Time doesn't heal everything
by Wen1
Summary: On the road bringing her back from school, Jean is kidnapped… pairing: Jott rating : Beware, some scenes can really shock the young readers or the sensible people and even their author…lol. FINISHED
1. Chapter 1

**Time doesn't heal everything, version noire**

**Writer **: Wen

**Situation:** Allusions at some episodes going until the third season. At the institute there are only: Logan, Ororo, Hank, Rogue, Kitty, Kurt, Evan, Tabitha, Amara, Scott and Jean, but Bobby, Jubilee, Rahne and Jamie arrive later.

**Summary :** On the road bringing her back from school, Jean is kidnapped… pairing: Jott ; rating : Beware, some scenes can really shock the young-readers or the sensible people (and even their author…lol)..

**Category :** general/drama

**Disclaimer: **I don't own the X-men blah blah blah

**Writer notes: **I've erased the first version of this fic for this one, the more complete one, the "dark version"

Here, I admit I've really went all out and I've not written soft things, it's a rather dark fic (well, as a matter of fact, I've even take the habit to call it "the horrible fic" when I was speaking about it lol)

Thank to Rogue14 and DiazF for their correction and beta-reading of the new additions

Oh yes, another modification : Jean has been rejected by her family because I didn't want to have them in the legs lol

So, happy reading and please review!

Do not publish without my authorization, please.

The bell signalling the short break between classes rang. In no time, the corridors were invaded by students chattering, raging or laughing deeply. Jean forced her way through them. She made it out without difficulty, given that people were avoiding her ever since she had been revealed as a mutant. It was the same for all the X-Men.

Duncan proposed to use her powers to 'their' advantage, cheating on tests in other words. No doubt that was the reason he was her ex-boyfriend now. But he, unfortunately, continued causing trouble to her and to the other mutants. She finally decided to use his own rules against him and threatened him to use her powers to make him believe he was a monkey if he bothered anyone again.

The adolescent smiled at the memory as she was opening her locker door to put away the books she didn't need anymore.

- "Mrs Nicols still doesn't on strike?" she spoke without even pulling her head out of the locker. She knew who it was. She had felt him coming, thanks to their bond.

- "No" Scott answered, disappointed.

After having dragged out from it what she needed for her homework, Jean closed her locker. She turned to him and smiled.

- "Eh, it's not always to the same to have luck" she said by passing her fingers through his face before adding "even if I'd have love to get you out at the same time as me, for spending some time alone Just you…..and me.…"

She started to kiss him, Scott embraced her, but the ill-timed arrival of Kitty and Kurt, chuckling, interrupted them:

- "It'd be good to grow up you two" made Scott notice them by frowning, an arm still around Jean's waist.

They chuckled even more by keeping on their way.

- "I see what you mean by 'just the both of us'" noted Scott.

Jean smiled again the way he loved so much and said:

- "Well, I've got to rush off if I don't want to make you late for your lesson" she briefly captured his lips and added "See you!"

She started to leave but Scott stopped her:

- "Jean, wait!"

He rejoined her, took her in his arms and kissed her tenderly:

- "I love you" he said.

Jean smiled fondly.

- "So do I" she answered before reluctantly leaving his embrace and going away.

Scott followed her with his glance, a smile on his lips, until he lost sight of her; and went to his lesson.

Jean had just left the campus with the wheel of her SUV and headed in the direction of the Institute, five minutes away. The traffic was fluid but she had the misfortune to fall on a traffic light installed because of road work. Strange, this very morning there wasn't going on … but it didn't matter, she wasn't in a hurry. She leaned a little more against her seat, savouring the slight breeze swallowed up by the car's opened window. It wasn't too cold for this beginning of December. She let her mind wander at the sound of the music which was playing on the radio. Her thoughts went immediately to Scott with whom she was dating for four and a half a months now. She smiled without even noticing it, having difficulty understanding why the strong emotions she felt for him hadn't revealed themselves sooner.

The traffic light turned green and she started again, driving dead slow as it was indicated. The street was deserted except for some workmen, there were no cars following her. Suddenly, she felt a shot at the nape of her neck and braked by reflex, thinking that it was only a wasp. But when she reached a hand to touch the sting, she touched something else. She pulled it out painfully and observed it… a hypodermic dart. She instantly felt herself being seized by a woolly wave. She tried to call for help, but found she couldn't concentrate on using her powers. Her sight became more and more blurred, and before her eyes closed themselves, she saw the 'workmen' coming closer to her with victorious smiles on their lips...

Two hours later, Scott was back at the Institute and was parking his car in the garage. Without formality, Kurt teleported himself –probably toward the kitchen–, Kitty phased herself through the door and went after him, and Rogue did the same but in the traditional way.

Scott was about to go in as well, but noticed the absence of Jean's car with added to his overall confusion, combined with the sudden disappearance of their psychic-bond, a little while after she had left the high school. The first time, he had thought that she might be working with the Professor, but apparently it wasn't the case. He shook his head to chase his worry out of his mind, she must simply have gone in town and wanted a little of tranquillity, after all sometimes he blocked their bond for a few hours to be alone with his own thoughts. He chose this hypothesis, a lot more appeasing, and it was in this state of mind that he made his entrance in the Institute with the intention to go to his bedroom, when he passed Logan:

- "Tell me kid, Red was supposed to be finishin' at 4 p.m. today, right?"

The worry remade its appearance in Scott's mind.

- "Yeah, why ?" he asked.

- "She hasn't come back. Wouldn't she have told ya if she was intendin' to go somewhere?""

- "No, we should've met here" he answered, the anxiety taking henceforth the place of the worry.

- "I don't like to see her alone nowadays, with the overall anti-mutant phenomena"

- "Neither do I…" said Scott, concerned.

Storm's voice made itself hear:

- "She's not answering her cell, so that's of no use. I guess she hasn't used it since Taryn gave it to her." she said before arriving near them and raising her eyes, noticing Cyclops at the same time "Scott ! Do you…?"

- "No, I don't now where she is" he answered by touching his hand to the nape of his neck.

Logan observed him for a minute, not missing Cyclops' anxious gesture, and asked:

- "Is there somethin' you shoul' tell us bub ?"

- "Huh ?"

- "Yes, are you thinking about something ?" asked Storm.

- "Actually yes, to the fact that two hours ago, a little while after Jean had left me at the high school, our psychic-bond has disappeared"

- "And this hasn't happened before, has it ?" asked Wolverine.

- "Yes it had, when one of us wanted to have a little privacy in our own thoughts, but now with the fact that she hasn't come back, it's worrying me"

All of them stayed concerned a while before Ororo declared:

- "Listen, it's not yet dark outside and it's probable that we're worrying for nothing and Jean knows perfectly well how to defend herself. The Professor will come back at 8.30 p.m., if we still haven't got any news, he'll use Cerebro to find her, but I'm sure everything is all right"

Two and a half hours later there still wasn't any trace of Jean and when the Professor Xavier entered with Hank, he immediately felt the anxiety of his protégés:

- "What is going on?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.

- "Jean has disappeared. It was five hours ago that she should have come back and she hasn't called or even contacted anybody by telepathy" said Storm who, now, seemed to see the things with a lot less of serenity "The psychic-bond between she and Scott has been broken and he's calling everybody he knows, old friends or new-enemies, to see if they've seen her."

- "Hum…" said Charles "That is not like her effectively, I will try to locate her with Cerebro" he announced by starting his wheeling chair toward the elevator which would bring him to the sub-basements with Hank, Ororo and Logan following him.

When Scott descended to rejoin them, he found them at the exterior of the big circular room, with serious looks:

- "You haven't found her, have you ?"

By his question, the professors understood than he hadn't been anymore successful than them.

- "No" admitted Charles "I looked all over for her, but, I haven't been able to locate her" repeated the powerful telepath for his young student.

- "But what does that mean ? I thought that Cerebro was able to detect any mutant in all the world ! " queried Scott without knowing if he really wanted to hear the answer to his question.

- "It can do it only if she uses her powers" specified the Professor "I will carry on the searches"

- "I can't stay here without doing anything, I'm leaving for the town to see if I can find her" declared Scott.

- "I'm gonna follow ya by bike kid, between the two of us we'll cover more ground"

- "I'll call the police and the hospitals" tried Ororo before adding after seeing Cyclops' look "Scott, there's no harm in trying"

Wolverine shook his head:

- "Oh please Storm, don't be so naïve, she's a mutant, the police won't do anythin'"

- "I don't intend to tell them she's one" answered Ororo.

the more reviews I get, the sooner I post ;)

please review !

Wen


	2. Chapter 2

Well as it's the beginning and nothing has begun to change, I'll post another part even if there is only one review but that's an exception :-p

Read and review please !

**Angent-G:** it won't be graphic, so the rating M is enough normally.

* * *

- "I don't intend to tell them she's one" answered Ororo.

- "As soon as you give them her name, they're gonna make the link, the sentinel story's still fresh in people's minds" insisted Wolverine.

- "We'll have to do it anyway, so I'll take care of it" replied Storm with more steadiness in her voice.

Logan didn't add anything, he had just understood that she simply wanted to do something. Kitty, Rogue, Kurt, Evan, Amara and Tabitha went to join them and wanted to come with Scott and Logan, but the Professor was opposed:

- "Evan, Amara, Tabitha, you stay here, in case Jean calls" he began before carrying on despite the protestations of the three young mutants. "Rogue, you go with Logan ; Kitty, you go with Scott, two pairs of eyes are better than one, overall when you have to keep your attention toward the road ; Kurt, with your two miles of teleportation capacity , you can search the streets and neighbourhoods around here"

All of them nodded and left toward the elevator. The Professor watched them going away an instant before pivoting his wheelchair and returning into the Cerebro-room. He caught the helmet linking him to the powerful machine and murmured before putting it on his head:

- "I hope she's all right..."

* * *

Jean began to move, showing a relatively imminent wake up. After a while, she opened her eyes with difficulty, her sight staying blurred for a few moments before becoming clear again. A twitching at the nape of her neck made her slightly wince, she wanted to massage it, but instead of landing on her skin, her hand landed on a strange device. The surprise woke her up and she realised that she was in a little dark room closed by an heavy iron door; on the wall, a little window equipped by bars allowed her to take to take a glimpse of the moon and the stars and there wasn't any pane of glass to prevent the cold breeze from entering in the room. A very little extension was provided a rudimentary bathroom.

Jean shivered and got up, she was shaky on her legs for a moment and frowned at the migraine which came to assail her. Once she was stabilized and didn't feel like collapsing on the least step anymore, she came closer of the door and tried unsuccessfully to open it. All naturally, she summoned up her telekinesis, but was surprised to not feel the particular sensation which manifested itself in her head usually.

/ _This__ must be because of the stress or the drug _/ she thought.

Perplexed and anxious, she concentrated in the intention to project herself in the mind of the ones having locked her here in order to know where she was, but nothing happened again.

/_This strange device_ / thought suddenly Jean by putting again her hands on it.

It was surrounding her neck and it didn't seem to have a way to take it off. But how come a device was able to hold back her powers ? Who would do something like this? Why would someone do this ? A scream of pain startled her and made her blood run cold ; something was sure, this person did not have good intentions …

* * *

The two X-Men teams in vehicles –and Kurt– were searching for Jean for more than an hour, when Wolverine announced on their com-device:

- "_We've just found her car, it's empty except for some stuff_" he grumbled.

- "Where are you ?" asked Scott.

- "_On the road to Bayville's aerodrome_"

- "We're not far from there, we're coming" answered Cyclops before making a sudden turn, eliciting a shriek of fear from Kitty.

Five minutes later, he was parking behind Logan's bike and discovered the state of Jean's 4x4…The car was on the side of the road, dented everywhere, windows shattered and the tires burst. Anti-mutant inscriptions had been written with a bomb painting.

- "My god…" he muttered under the shock.

- "I've found this" said Logan by showing a hypodermic dart. "I think we have to yield to the facts, Jean's been kidnapped"

Kitty wanted to ask something, but Wolverine seemed to guess the question, although he used in it less tact than she would have:

- "No, if they killed her, they'd've left let her in her car, the inscriptions actin' as they claim, and overall they wouldn't have taken the trouble to drug her "

Scott, after having cast a useless glance in the vehicle, looked in the surroundings.

- "Jean…" he breathed, as if the simple fact of pronouncing her name would make her appear.

Logan heard him and declared in a reassuring voice:

- "We're gonna find her kid, we're gonna find her"

* * *

Jean hadn't slept all night, turning uselessly in the room, searching for a way to get out which didn't exist, now sitting down against a wall, as her legs were becoming much too tired. At the break of dawn, the clicking of the door's lock startled her, and subconsciously she moved back as it opened wide…

A man with a massive figure made his entrance, followed by another one, obviously younger, but with a glance as bad as the first one's.

- "Who are you ? What do you want with me !" she asked in a voice which tried to stay assured, but hinted at the dread which was going through her body.

The one who had entered the first answered to her in a scornful tone, stretching his thin lips in a spiteful smile:

- "You have just arrived, so I will answer these two questions for you, but you should know that these will be your last ones" he said in a sardonic voice "Who are we ? We like to be called the '_Friends Of Humanity_'. We are a little group wanting to get rid the world of the rising threat of the errors of the nature like you and your kind, and…"

- "We're humans, we only have an extra gene…" she couldn't end her sentence, the man had thrown to her a strong slap which sent her on to ground.

- "Don't ever, ever interrupt me when I'm speaking, riffraff ! "he raged.

Jean stayed groggy for a few seconds, but stood up again despite the pain reverberating on her cheek reddened by the slap.

- "You are only invaders, freaks which we have to exterminate like rats" he carried on.

Jean stopped herself from answering, something in the cold and sharp man's glance was indicating her that the slap she had received was only a simple warning. The guy smiled with contempt, obviously delighted to see that she wasn't saying anything anymore despite the anger which seemed to be animating her.

- "What do we want ?" he asked "I have told you, to clean the planet. But for that we need some _guinea pigs_ to test our methods and our inventions like this fantastic collar…The authorities haveput in jail the men who had conceived this superb robot, this 'sentinel' and this is really regrettable I'm sure we could have got on well…"

He observed her a while with condescendence and added:

- "We are detaining here two others freaks like you, but with power different than yours, non-psychic powers. You won't have the occasion to see them, except maybe in the torture-room…"

Jean swallowed with difficulty, without powers she was feeling terribly vulnerable and was wishing that all this was only a nightmare.

- "I warned you immediately, you can yell as much as you want, nobody will hear you, the only people living around here are members of our organization and nothing pleases them more than hearing these screams"

Jean slowly shook her head and gave him a glance full of hate and incomprehension:

- "You're ignoble, your ideology is not better than Hitler's"

She expected to receive another slap but it didn't come, instead the man grinned slightly:

- "You will respect and fear me by the end," he growled.

Without even turning himself toward the other man, leaving his eyes on Jean, he ordered:

- "Take her away Greg! " and he turned back before leaving the room, letting the door wide open behind him.

Jean saw that as an opportunity to seize. She began to move back as the guy –Greg ?– was coming closer to her and, when they were far enough from the door, she held out her wrists toward him, pretending to be cooperating. But, when he wanted to catch them, she gave him a powerful punch in the genitals and, as he doubled up by pain, she rushed forward the door.

She passed it and turned on the right, looking behind her at the sound of the vociferations of the man she had just brought down, but, when she turned again her glance in front of her, she received a strong slap which sent her on the ground as had the previous one.

It was the Chief, like the young mutant will ended up calling him, he smiled viciously to her and leaned toward her catching her by the neck and lifting her.

- "You will pay for that and you will never ever do it again" he snarled before beginning to beat her black and blue, slapping her several times, then, finally, he threw her against the wall.

Jean reached out to not run into it head on, but didn't know if it had been a good idea, if she had lost consciousness she wouldn't have felt the kicks which followed. She tried to clench her teeth in order not to give him the pleasure to scream, but the pain was too strong and she gave up by curling up on herself in order to try to protect herself with her arms. Suddenly, she felt the chief catching her again by the neck:

- "Never ever again" he breathed in her ear before throwing her again against the wall.

This time, Jean hadn't had the strength to protect herself from it and fell on the ground, half unconscious, blood running out on her face.

The chief smiled victoriously whereas, behind his back, Greg was rejoining him, lurching:

- "I told you she would try to escape, they always do that" he commented "Bring her back to her cell, and make me the pleasure not to be had next time"

Greg nodded, threw a revengeful kick in Jean's abdomen –who took it by wailing, not having the strength to scream anymore– and indelicately caught her wrist, to drag her to her room. She lost consciousness before he let her in her cell and didn't feel Greg spit on her, not the sound of the door being brutally closed again.

Jean didn't get a lot of time for recuperating from her wounds. Some hours later, when she regained consciousness, two men went to fetch her:

- "Hmm, enticing new one…." said one of them in a vicious voice which sent cold shivers down her spine.

to be continued...

* * *

That's the beginning of a new part, it's up to you to read it as soon as possible by reviewing :-p 

Wen


	3. Chapter 3

Thanksfor the review !

**Summers Groupie**: you'll see, you'll see  
**Cuz I Can :** lol, breath cuzican, breath

**Agent G : **It's like you want, I don't force anyone to read it ;-) and in the last version I explained a fact which is from the comic : telepaths never forget anything, and blocking this kind of things would only aggravate her case. And for her family, in the beginning I haven't erased the fact that her parents aren't considering Jean as their daughter, so they still aren't in this fic. And last, Jean wasn't insane, she was traumatized which is legitimate.

Read and please review!

* * *

- "Hmm, enticing new one…." said one of them in a vicious voice which sent cold shivers down her spine.

She clenched her teeth for not wincing; bruises were beginning to take form. She had a black eye and surely a broken rib. Having said that, she didn't let them take her easily:

- "No! Don't touch me!" she said by freeing herself from their grasp.

- "No? But it's not up to you to decide mutie" laughed the first men.

- "Let me go!" said Jean, backing from them.

- "Oh, you'll go, but not on your pretty legs believe me," laughed the second men before stopping. "Now, no time to laugh anymore, you've a meeting with the future of the torture and eradication technicians of the friends of humanity."

He clutched her more brutally.

- "No! Bastards! You're crazy, you…"

She took a punch in her abdomen and had to curl herself in two for catching back her breath.

- "You're good-looking, but learn to shut your mouth riffraff, or it'll be up to us to do it," said the first men by forcing her to stand up.

- "And what a pity it would be, such a pretty face…" added the other by passing his finger over her face.

Sore, but still as much angered, Jean spit at his face.

- "Take off your dirty hands!"

She took another slap, which she couldn't avoid, one of the guards being keeping her in place.

- "You're right Bob, she must learn how to shut her fucking mouth! Bitch!" said the first man by wiping his face "Let's go. They'll become impatient"

With difficultly, they led her to a brightly-lit room, almost blinding. An adolescent was suspended by his arms, traces of blood smeared on his body. He was breathing in fits and rasps. Jean was terrified by this sight and by the numerous instruments in the room, but she had trouble staying focused.

- "Where do you want us to put her?" said the one called Bob.

- "What have you done to her?" asked the woman, whom they were talking to.

_/A woman, she couldn't be on their side, it wasn't possible/_ thought Jean.

- "She hasn't been really cooperative on the way. So we had to teach her some rules."

Jean was about to ask for help from the woman, but when this one spoke, she knew it would be useless.

- "This will distort my observations, and with the fact that the chief hasn't missed her earlier…" she sighed without an ounce of sympathy for Jean "Oh, tie her like the other mutant. We'll see how she'll react."

Jean didn't have to wait long for knowing it…

* * *

A little more than one week had melted away and there still wasn't any news about Jean. The Professor had spent whole nights looking for her with Cerebro's help, the students, days interrogating Bayville's students and passers, without any result. On his side, Hank had exploited to its maximum the shell of Jean's car which had been brought back to the Institute, analysed the hypodermic dart, and looked for the planes which had left the aerodrome that very day, but hadn't found anything which could be useful. Logan had called his contact at S.H.I.E.L.D., Nick Fury, but he hadn't been able to help them. After some days, Charles had insisted that the young mutants return to school, in order to not see them going round in circles and more importantly for not ruining all theirs efforts of integration.

Ororo climbed up to the second floor bringing a meal-tray to Scott who hadn't descended to eat, as he was inclined to do since Jean's disappearance. The weather witch stopped in front of his door and tapped but didn't obtain an answer; surprised, she opened it to discover an empty room. Storm didn't ask herself any questions and closed the door again to move further down the corridor and tap at another room.

- "Scott, are you here ?"

- _"Yeah_…" answered a voice without conviction.

Storm pressed the handle and pushed the door, holding the tray with only one hand.

- "When I saw you weren't in your room, I suspected you'd be here." she said gently.

Cyclops was sitting on Jean's bed, in the semi-darkness, turning his back to the door, his head hanged. Storm sighed imperceptibly, put the tray on the desk and came to sit at his side.

- "I've brought your meal, I thought you may be hungry"

The young mutant shook his head.

- "Scott, starving yourself won't help us to find her" she said without harshness in her voice.

- "I know, but I can't bring myself to eat anything" he answered "It makes 9 days today"

- "Nothing is lost Scott, as long as…as long as we don't have proof of the contrary, we've got to keep the hope to find her alive" said Storm having just avoided saying words that Cyclops wasn't ready to hear.

The adolescent nodded silently, without lifting his head, his glance seeming to stare the floor. The weather witch was about to add something but was cut off by the sudden arrival of Kurt who had just teleported himself in the room in a cloud of smoke.

- "Ah, you were here Scott, I was looking for you" he said.

- "News ?" asked Scott with a glimmer of hope by raising his head toward Nigthcrawler.

- "No, I just came to see if you need company…"

Scott turned back in his contemplation of the floor, shaking his head.

- "No, that's kind of you to have thought of that, but I rather like being alone right now" he answered.

- "Are you sure ?" asked Kurt.

- "Yes, I'm sure"

- "Well, I'll leave you too Scott," said Storm "But think about what I've told you and try to eat a little"

- "Moreover, it's not Kitty who has cooked" added Kurt, alluding to the disastrous cooking talents of the young mutant "Amara did and it was really good"

- "I'll think about it"

Respecting his will to stay alone, Storm left the room and Kurt teleported himself toward another place.

* * *

Greg, and two other men, a thin one, and a clumsy one, were playing cards in one room of their headquarters.

- "Bloody hell, I've lost again !" said the last one, throwing his cards on the table.

Plump legs, a round and slightly prominent abdomen, his fingers heavy and misshapen, yellow teeth, a pendent jaw, the skin greasy with a waxy colour, Tyron did not have a pleasing physical appearance, especially adding his pig-like eyes.

- "What do you want Ty , you're not good at this game but you keep on trying"

- "I've still got one hour to kill, shit !" he groaned.

- "Still not going home?" said Greg.

- "Why ? Marta has run away so…"

- "Didn't you want to visit the redhead ? After all, last evening you won the right to be the first one to play with her…if I had had your luck, I'd have yet run to her, she's a bomb and she's not that damaged yet…, you shouldn't wait, the others will lose patience" noticed the thin man, tucking a lock of blond hair, which was blocking his sight, behind his ear, while playing a card.

- "Oh yes, yes, you're right" answered Tyron with a vicious smile "See you guys"

- "There you go," laughed his colleagues, keeping their attention on their game, while he headed off towards the cells.

Hearing his heavy tread, Stimy, one of the two other imprisoned mutants, closed his eyes in fear that he was coming to torture him again, he knew he wouldn't stand another round of torture again. But Tyron didn't stop in front of his door, instead, he heard him walk on and open the next door, the one where the girl was detained; he had seen her one day, as those trashy guards were bringing her back to her cell barely conscious, after a session of electroshocks, judging by the nervous shocks which were going through her. She seemed to be of his age and Stimy had recognized her as one of the mutants being part of the X-Men, the ones who had made the front page of all the newspapers by fighting against a giant robot. As he had done for himself, Jean too, tried to break lose from her cell. For the first six days after she was being locked up, she screamed, yelled, banged on the door, everything, as long as she could be freed of this dreadful place. But the beatings and fatigue got the better of her. She finally gave up hope of ever being of ever being set free as her living nightmare began. He was pulled out of his thoughts by cries which, despite the thickness of the walls, reached his ears distinctly.

- "_No, no ! I beg you !"_

- "_Well, come here you !"_

- _"Please, don't do this to me, I beg you !"_

- "_"We're gonna__ play together, little slut "_

Tyson's rocky voice, nevertheless, hadn't had any difficulty to cross the walls. He heard new cries, then kicks following by screams.

- "_Shut up and keep still bitch !"_ snarled Tyron's voice "_Bite me again and I break your fingers !"_

- _"No, I beg you…!...don't do this to me…!...don't…! stop ! no!_ _NNNNNOOOOOOOOO !"_

Stimy closed his eyes when he heard the yells which followed, horrendous yells of pain and terror. He knew what was happening in the cell, he suspected it, the young mutant was attractive and the men who were locking her were surely taking advantage of it. The vulgarities which made themselves heard between the screams confirmed his dreads.

Some fifteen minutes later, a short while after an ignoble cry of jubilation from Tyron, all became calm again ; the door banged and, once the steps moved away, the only thing he heard was the echo of the weak sobs. Burst of laughs were heard from a distance and the girl fell silent, then Stimy heard her threw up and the water spilling until she burst in sobs again. He could do nothing to help her. There were still two inhuman people who called themselves 'Friends of Humanity' queuing for their turn to unleash the animal lust in them. That was her cue for to start another round of scream.

They were the ones who deserved to be called freaks…

To be continued

Wen


	4. Chapter 4

Thants to : **Summers Groupie !**

Read and please review!

* * *

Three more weeks melted away in the doubt and the uncertainty for all the X-Men. Nobody was exchanging Christmas or New Year wishes. There was nothing to celebrate, not when the life of one of their team-mate and friend was at a stake.

On Saturday, at midday, a mutant who they hadn't seen in about a year, came to make a surprise visit…

- "Forge!" said Kurt, discovering him on the doorstep "I'm glad to see you again !"

- "So am I, Kurt! How are you ?"

Nightcrawler lost his happy face and answered in a much less sprightly voice:

- "Not very well. Jean was kidnapped one month ago, we don't even know if she's still alive and everybody is at the end of their tethers, mostly Scott and the professors" he said sadly by leading him to the common-room where most of the students were gathered with Beast.

Everybody waved warmly at him and offered him something to eat and to drink. Forge noticed Cyclops' absence and asked:

- "Scott isn't here ?"

- "No, since Jean has disappeared he spends all his free time searching over the town and the surroundings until the night" answered Evan.

- "Oh…"

- "I think he knows very, like, well that it's useless, but he needs to do something" added Kitty "He and Jean have always been liked, quite bonded; they were together, like, for a few months and he's blaming himself for not having been with her, even if it's, like, not his fault, he had class and she had ended sooner"

- "It happened at the exit of the high school?" asked Forge.

- "Yes, that's what we think, even though we found her car several miles from here, broke into pieces and covered with anti-mutant graffiti" answered Beast.

Forge thought for a few moments, and declared:

- "That's strange, I'm coming from Wichita, where a similar kidnapping happened two months ago now; it was a mutant who controlled animals, called Stimy Peterson" explained Forge "his parents didn't make a fuss about this –they haven't accepted the fact that he had revealed himself to be a mutant– his car had been found ransacked, but the act had been claimed by the_ 'Friends Of Humanity'_"

- "The what?" asked Rogue.

- "The_ 'Friends Of Humanity' is _a group of fanatics who have something in common with the Nazis but whose target is nothing but us, mutants" explained Forge "They aren't really numerous, but we're beginning to find out about them."

Beast seemed to be pensive:

- "It's as though I've already seen this name somewhere, but where…?" he thought at out loud voice before exclaiming suddenly "I know!"

Without even adding a word, he left in some jumps. Curious, the students followed him to the garage where the shell of Jean's car was. He glanced over the numerous inscriptions full of hatred and seemed to find what he was looking for.

- "That's it ! here : _' humanity has found its friends to protect it from this curse'_" he read in a loud voice indicating the graffiti on the bonnet of the car "the _'Friends Of Humanity'_ it's the same organization !"

* * *

Five minutes later, they were all gathered in the Professor's office ­–only Scott was missing– and had informed him about this major clue: finally they knew the kidnappers' name.

- "We must attack them and set Jean free !" said Tabitha.

- "This isn't so easy" said Forge "They're rather well organized and only their members know where their headquarters is"

- "So, we find one of those damned members, and I'm gonna make him speak" grumbled Logan, pulling out his claws.

- "They're known for being real animals, at least the most fanatical of them, they'd rather die than speak to a mutant" replied Forge.

The Professor, who hadn't opened his mouth since their coming, asked in a calm voice.

- "It seems to me that you have an idea, Forge"

- "Yes" he admitted "to infiltrate their organization"

- "Nah, they won't be had, we're well known in this territory" said Rogue.

- "Yours yes, but not mine"

- "This could be really dangerous Forge" said Ororo.

- "Maybe, but without you I'd be still locked in this parallel dimension, I owe you my life and I'm bent on paying my debt"

A silence took place, before Kurt suggested:

- "If I change my image inducer, I could come with you"

- "No, with two people we'd be too noticeable, and a magnetic problem would be enough to reveal you" replied Forge.

- "You know by where you're gonna begin ?" asked Logan, having understood that the young mutant had made his decision.

- "Yes, I've my idea…" answered Forge "I'll leave immediately, I'll contact you with the smallest bit of new information"

- "Thanks Forge"

- "You'll thank me if something comes of it"

* * *

In his car, Scott had just parked on the side of the road, at the very place where Jean's 4x4 had been found, one month ago. Leaning on the door of the car with his elbow, discouraged, he set free the tears which were growing inside for too long. He missed her, lord how he missed her and he didn't know where she was nor even if she was still alive; if it was the case, all he hoped was that she wasn't suffering…

* * *

Jean was suspended by the arms with a butcher hook for half an hour already. She was naked, her body was strewed with bruises and marks, the cold water which was flowing down her head had erased most of the dried blood which were staining her. She shivered from the cold. Several guards had come to watch, most of them had already raped her several times. She held back a sob. The water was salty, it was surely sea-water. It stung her when it made contact with her wounds, but at least it'd disinfect it a little. Another electrical shock coursed through her body. Led and fed by the salted water, she gave out an agonising scream filled with pain.

- "…I beg you…stop it…" she articulated weakly.

- "Well, we'll increase the power" another woman was contented to answer her plea.

- "There is nothing to say, this torture is really arousing, I would well want to fuck her" said Tyron by gliding his tongue on his teeth, turning around Jean.

Several guards laughed and agreed.

- "Another time maybe, but seeing that you've undressed her, I'm sure you've taken her before bringing her here" said another masculine voice.

Tyron was startled and answered with submission:

- "Ok chief"

Jean shut her eyes, her tears were going unnoticed with the water running down her skin. The next electrical shock was even stronger, she was about to pass out, she wanted to pass out.

- "Hey, where do you think you're going red-head?" asked the chief of the guards who had come closer and pulled up her chin.

She didn't see him reaching out for a syringe but, the next instant, a needle was violently plunged into her thorax, bringing her back to consciousness once again. Damned this product…

- "That's better" he smiled "We don't want you to miss the party. Carry on"

For the next twenty minutes, she was being tortured by electrical shocks though she wasn't screaming with the same vigour anymore. She was constantly in pain due to the pallets used on her skin without protection and the salty water only made it worse for her.

- "It'll be enough for today" said the woman "You can bring her back to her cell"

A guard cut the rope which was binding her hands at the hook and in doing so, he deliberately slashed her skin. She fell heavily on the ground, shaken from time to time from nervous-start..She heard Tyron and other guards were debating among themselves, then one of them grabbed one of her wrist roughly and dragged her on the ground as if she was no more than a sack of rice.

The woman called out to him:

- "Brad, after you're done with your business, please be kind enough to dress her again."

Jean wasn't going to delude herself, she knew what was going to happen. Upon arriving in her cell, the guard raped her for a long time until he was too exhausted and finally collapsed on top of her, covered in sweat. As he was about to exit, he remembered the woman's order and caught the half torn clothes which Tyron had shredded, before fetching her to the observation and torture chamber. He viciously dressed her again.

- "It must be the first time I do that in this order" he laughed. "You must be proud to be the first woman I ever clothed after being used" he laughed menacingly

Jean was too numb to do anything. She used to struggle despite what it would cost her, but not this time. She was too weak and her muscles were not responding to her anymore. All she had been able to do was to turn her head away as she cried silent tears. The guard obliged her to look at him, as he bent toward her and said:

- "See you soon…" before going away.

When Jean regained consciousness it was dark. Her body was aching all over but she dragged herself to the ridiculous bathroom for to clean herself as much as she could.

* * *

Since three days, the Professor had started again his researches with Cerebro, but didn't have any result. On the other side, he knew that their only chance to find Jean, Forge, was still alive.

Ororo entered as soon as the door opened:

- "Charles, you should go to rest."

- "I know Ororo, but I can't. She is out there somewhere and we know nothing of her safety."

- "You know that Cerebro can't detect her. It's useless. You're just exhausting yourself."

- "Each minute counts"

- "I know Charles, I know"

They stayed silent for some minutes:

- "How is Scott?" asked the Professor.

- "Bad. When he's not at school, he spends his time on the road or near the phone hoping for a call from Forge…At school a professor asked him news of the researches –the one who is tolerant, Mr Malcom– he had understood that Jean's kidnapping was the reason of the fall of Scot's results. The fact that someone exterior has asked him questions has shaken Scott" answered Ororo before sighing "He's worrying me, if we don't find her, I dunno what will happen…"

- "We still have a hope" remembered Charles.

- "I hope she's still alive…"

* * *

To be continued

Please review, it only takes 1 minute

Wen


	5. Chapter 5

Thants for the reviews !

**The Emo Princess : **congratulation to the new mummy !

**Summers groupie :** you begin to know my style lol

**Agent G :** it's like you want. "Positives changes" are subjective. The story isn't the same, the most changes are later.Personally I rather like working hard on my novels than on fanfiction which are only a divertissement. Moreover I've never really killed one character. For Jean's family, it's not bashing, I hate it too, bashing is when you make people ridiculous, and there is a reason for Jean's parents leaving her: her mutation. PersonallyI don't know how I could judge any story, so it don't, I considere that anybody as it's ownn style and moreover I wait to see the end before comentating if I do.

Read and please review!

* * *

Jean leaned on the straw mattress of her cell, the material of which had been stained by her blood for a long time. Actually, she didn't know for how long she'd been there, she was losing all sense of time; maybe she was even lengthening it, by changing the seconds into minutes, the minutes into hours and the hours into days.

A door banged and she startled, curling up a little more on herself as terrible flashes were coming back to her mind. Night and day, she was beaten, raped and tortured, but the rapes overall happened in the evening. At each fall of the day, she was afraid that the men would come for her again, as they were often doing. The days before, they had again came at three, not giving her any break, raping her one after the other, then at the same time, laughing and moaning out of pleasure while she struggled to breathe. Defending herself and biting them were only bringing her more kicks and savagery. Before it didn't matter, she needed to struggle, now she wasn't able to, her body wasn't following anymore. As a matter of fact, they left her half-naked now, tired of giving her clothes which would be torn that very day, so, she was only wearing a long shirt; an old travelling rug holed by the mites had been thrown to her so she didn't die from cold.

She sobbed. A gust of wind let the snow engulf her cell, which enlarged the puddle which had taken shape on the ground by melting. Jean had a cold, the humidity had saturated her poor cover with water; she was hungry, but a lot less than before, she was accustomed at the daily-ration of bread even if the rapes where preventing her to keep all of it …She felt pain everywhere, her body was covered by dried blood, bruises and wounds more or less healed, the simple fact of breathing was painful for her, she didn't count the number of kicks she had received, or the tortures she had endured anymore. She was feeling filthy and soiled. She made herself vomit constantly whenever the guards cum in her mouth and forced her to swallow their semen. Her body was slowly rejecting to keep anything in her stomach, including the daily stale bread they gave her. If she wasn't so weak and didn't feel so much pain, she would spend whole hours by cleaning herself. She wanted only one thing: that they end with it, that they kill her, because the physical tortures or the death was nothing compared to that…

She barely remembered who she was and what was her life before; when she fell asleep it was for only an intermittent, by exhaustion dreamless slumber; alone in her cell, she was feeling emptied of energy but full of dirtiness, her innocence and her light had disappeared forever, she had stopped living even if her heart was resolutely keeping on beating, her eyes on seeing and crying, and her body on feeling and suffering.

Steps made themselves heard and stopped in front of the door of her cell, she closed her eyes and set free new tears, she knew what was about to happen again even if her body hadn't recovered from their previous rape…

* * *

Two weeks passed again, Jean had disappeared a month and a half ago. Forge had been able to enter the group of the _'Friends Of Humanity'_ a short time after his visit to the Institute, but hadn't – as of his last report– learned anything exploitable.

Scott was turning like a lion in a cage, he and Kurt were waiting for over an hour for Forge to come to their rendezvous, in a town parking lot lit by some street-lamps. Finally, a car made its appearance, parked not far away, and the mutant brought back from the past got out of it.

- "So ? Do you have anything ?" asked Scott even before he arrived at their level.

Forge nodded and the X-Men leader's heart hesitated between tightening with hope and preparing itself to be broken.

- "I've had a drink with a man of the organization whose trust I gained, and was able to make him speak" he answered "I know that some members, the more extremists of the so-called '_Friends Of Humanity' _have a headquarters in the area of Tacoma –Washington state–. Here is the precise address," he gave a paper to Scott "they're detaining two or three mutants in there thanks to devices which can hold back their powers"

- "So, that's why Cerebro hasn't found anything !" exclaimed Kurt "That's a good lead, we have to go here Scott !"

- "We'll go" said Cyclops "Anything else which could be useful for us ?"

- "It's an isolated building where there're at least twenty armed people, the man told me it seemed to him that one of the mutants involved with the Sentinel-story was still detained in there one week ago"

- "Jean…" breathed Scott.

- "Yes, I think that if he wasn't mistaking it must be her; but hurry up those guys are no altar boys, they're real Gestapos"…"

Scott quickly thanked him and Kurt teleported them immediately to the Institute where a rescue-mission was organised for as soon as possible. Almost immediately, Cyclops, Storm, Wolverine, Shadowcat, Nightcrawler and Rogue were leaving in the X-Jet for the western United States.

* * *

Upon arrival, they landed the X-Jet at a reasonable distance and departed in two teams : Cyclops and Wolverine on a one side, Storm, Shadowcat and Rogue on the other one, Kurt stayed aboard the jet, tuned in to come and fetch them if an emergency-evacuation was required, all of them staying in contact thanks to theirs com-devices. As a precaution, Rogue borrowed a a little bit of her stepbrother's power, just the amount necessary to conserve it for a little while – couldn't take anymore without weakening him– and they left.

Arriving at the spot, Kitty silently phased all of them through the walls and the two teams parted.

It was Storm's group which found the first one of the cells. The weather witch overtook the guards while Kitty was phasing through the first door and that Rogue was teleporting herself into the second room. Quickly, Rogue reappeared with a 14/15 year-old young boy, seeming panicked but in a good state, while Shadowcat was coming back empty-handed. Storm encouraged her to look into the third room as they were making enquiries about the boy's identity :

- "My name's Kevin…I…get me out of here, I beg you, awful things are happening here..., I've heard yells which made my blood run cold" he mumbled.

Kitty reappeared and shook her head, the third cell was empty. Ororo nodded in understanding and leaned over the young mutant while Rogue kept her eyes on the surroundings.

- "We'll get you out of here, but before we do I've got to ask you some questions" said the weather witch, creating a little lightning to short-circuit the device he was wearing around his neck "You've been here for a long time?"

The young boy moved back when he heard his 'collar' crackling and smelt a burned scent, he hadn't seen anything coming. He cast a worried glance to Ororo but quieted down when she pulled out the device.

- "So ?" she asked gently, pushing him nevertheless to answer quickly.

- "No, two days…well I guess so…I was kidnapped in Madison"

- "Have you seen a young girl of 18 years old, about my height, with red hair, named Jean Grey ?"

- "No…I haven't seen anybody, just two men who have advised me to keep still and… told me that they'd soon take care of my case and wished I'd hold on longer than the two mutants before me... with an awful smile they told me that they were dead by assisting to their own dissection" he shivered, the three X-Men looked frightened.. "But the yells I've heard seemed to be girl's ones…well I think so, because it was so horrible that I rather liked to put my fingers in my ears…and since, nothing more "

Storm kept her composure.

- "Okay, we'll hide you" she said before turning herself toward Rogue.

She understood, and in an instant had teleported the young boy into the X-Jet and was back in the building. The team carried on their searches in the corridor which had lead them to here.

/-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------/

Wolverine and Cyclops were travelling through another part of the building and hadn't met anyone yet. Suddenly, they heard the voices of two men coming in their direction and hid themselves in a corner, their objective being to act without attracting attention to them as long as possible.

Unfortunately, the two members of the '_Friends of Humanity'_ stopped a few feet from the two X-Men and started a conversation that chilled them with fright:

- "By the way Tyron, I've fucked the Redhead a few hours ago, you and the others were right, that's a good one, although a little too spineless and damaged for my taste…" said a man in a guttural voice.

- "Oh but she wasn't at the beginning, I took her when she was still a virgin, if you had heard her yell the bitch! Well, duh, it was the same the other times I fucked her, but at least she wasn't covering me with blood anymore, since I had popped her cherry and I didn't need to hit her as much, it was already done, and the other had also fucked her" he sniggered. "Now, between the state which she's in and the fact that she doesn't eat her bread since a week anymore, that's sure, she's nothing more than a living inflatable doll"

Logan had managed to keep Scott still and silent until now, but he lost the will and slackened his grip. Scott's heart missed a beat; in an instant he had leapt of their hiding place, and pounced on Tyron throwing him against a wall with a strength and a rage which Wolverine would have never suspected; as a matter of fact, he was in the same state and had pulled out his claws to liquidate the second man who didn't even have the time to open his mouth. The X-Men didn't kill ? Here it was above their strength, even of Cyclops' self-control who was setting upon Tyron, punching and kicking him, while a simple optic-blast should have been enough to slaughter him.

- "FUCKING BASTARDS! SHE'S ONLY EIGHTTEEN YEARS OLD! HOW COULD YOU DO THIS TO HER? HOW? YOU'RE GONNA FUCKING PAY!" his anger was such that his visor was glowing redder than it ever did before, if he had taken it off right at this instant, he could have literally destroyed a whole mountain.

- "Cyclops, that's enough, he's dead" said Logan, catching him by his shoulders.

As a matter of fact, Scott's brutal attack had been enough to break his neck, the strength of the impact against the wall having been amplified by the weight of the clumsy guard. Having said that, the settling of their scores had lacked discretion, and attracted people, with more armed guards coming in their direction.

- "_Wolverine, Cyclops ?"_ suddenly asked Storm's voice in their communicators _"We've located Jean, she's in a sort of lab, South of your position, We'll set her free"_

Scott turned himself toward Wolverine and asked him with an imploring voice:

- "Logan, go and get her out of there, please, get her out of there"

Logan gave him a surprised glance, he was expecting him to be the first one to go running toward Jean.

- "I'm dying to do it by myself, but I'm the only one of us who can stop the others while staying at distance" answered Scott as if he had read in his thoughts "Go! Don't waste any time!"

Wolverine nodded, but before leaving in the direction Storm had indicated, said:

- "Be careful, okay? Jeannie's gonna need you."

/-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------/

On their side, Storm instructed the thunderbolt and the gusts of wind to knock out the women and the men blocking their way as Kitty and Rogue were getting in the lab by phasing through a wall, Rogue having lost Kurt's teleportation power. They found themselves in a room with all kind of surgical and torture instruments which they rather liked not knowing the function; in any case they hadn't time to waste.

Nobody was paying attention to them, so the two mutants came running toward the table where Jean was placed. She wasn't tied, as a matter of fact, seeing the state in which she was, there wasn't any risk she could escape. Rogue and Kitty saw that she was conscious, although the parts of her feverish body which weren't covered by the dirty gown she was wearing were so much scattered by bruises, wounds and more or less dried blood that they had trouble not averting their glances under the shock.

- "We'll get you out of here; can you, like, walk?" Kitty asked automatically, putting her hand on her arm, she was surprised that Jean wasn't reacting to their arrival.

- "Kitty, she has a broken leg, how do you want her to walk?" noticed Malicia.

As a matter of fact, one of Jean's legs was obviously suffering of an opened fracture, a band had been rapidly placed, but it was soiled by blood which was running on the table. Something seemed to be pointing below and Kitty, realising what he must be, had to hold back a need to throw up. She turned her glance and called their friend:

- "Jean?'

She didn't obtain an answer and it was then that something caught her attention them: even if she had her eyes slightly opened, Jean was staying perfectly still, her empty glance lost into space.

- "Jean ? Why doesn't she, like, move ?" asked Shadowcat perplexed.

- "Ah haven't got a clue !" answered Rogue as bewildered at the telepath's state as Kitty was. she called her as well, and tried to make her react by patting her cheeks with her gloved hand. "Check if she has a pulse"

- "But if…"

- "Do it for Christ'sake!"

Kitty nodded –knowing that Rogue couldn't feel anything with her gloves– and raised her fingers to Jean's carotid before announcing with relief:

- "She's alive"

At the room entrance, Storm had just finished with the opposition and carried her attention toward her students, surprised to see them still at the same place whereas they should be already helping Jean to slide down off the table:

- "What's up?"

- "She's, like, alive and seems to be conscious, but she doesn't react, she…" mumbled Kitty.

- "What?"

Ororo came to join them and was also confronted by the sight of Jean's bruised body and more so at her empty and lost gaze.

- "Oh my god…Jean ? Jean, do you hear me ?" asked Storm in a worried voice, by passing her hands on her cheeks bruised by the blows. At the beginning, in order to keep her conscious and enticing, they had spared her face, but since some days, they weren't restraining themselves anymore.

The telepath didn't even blink. As perplexed as the two young girls, Ororo examined her with her eyes but the only apparent wounds she saw were her left leg, a wrist, and three fingers broken, and also a deep slash still bleeding at her left arm and another less serious at her forehead. Her fever seemed to be rather raised and, as for her breathing, it was particularly slow but regular.

The three mutants didn't have the time to think about anything else as Logan burst into the room, he was also covered by blood.

- "Wolverine ? Where's Cyclops?" asked Storm, fearing that something may have happened to him.

- "He's holdin' back the other armed guys!"

He arrived at Jean's level and couldn't help a gasp at her sight.

- "Bunch of bastards…" he grumbled, she even didn't have her own scent anymore, she was covered by men ones and two were predominating the others: the fear and the blood one.

Couldn't waste any time, he pulled out his claws and was about to remove the device surrounding the young mutant's neck, but Ororo stopped him:

To be continued

Please review, it only takes 1 minute

Wen


	6. Chapter 6

Thants for the reviews !

Read and please review!

* * *

- "Wait! It would be safer to let her wear this, at least until Charles has put the mental blocks in her mind"

Logan agreed. He pulled in his claws, and delicately took Jean in his arms, a weak light of pain and fright appeared slightly in her empty gaze.

- "It's over Jeannie, we're gonna get ya out of here" he breathed to her in a voice surprisingly marked by the emotions, before leading to the lab's exit ordering into his com-device "Nightcrawler ! Come get us!"

An instant later, Kurt appeared in front of them and teleported them back to the Jet. Wolverine sent him right away to retrieve Scott, as he was planning on taking off the Blackbird immediately, after settling Jean in the medical bay. Ororo having learned a lot near Hank, undertook to put a bandage on Jean's arm for stopping the bleeding of her slash, wound among a lot of other ones, and to add one to her left leg which was bleeding profusely. She felt the bone under her palms, but Jean didn't move. Storm also dressed the wound on her forehead after having it cleaned.

When Cyclops arrived in the aircraft, he ran straight for the bruised, young mutant; glad to have found her again although worried. He passed his hands over her face which was covered by bruises, but relatively 'spared' by her torturers compared to the remains of her body and it didn't take him long to notice that she wasn't even blinking.

- "What's…?" he asked.

- "We found her like that" answered Kitty.

Storm, a hand on Jean's hair, stuck by dried blood, declared:

- "She seems to be conscious but without really being here, she just stares with unseeing eyes, she must be in a particularly serious state of shock" she made a short pause and added almost for herself "….My god, what have they done to her that she's in this state…?"

It was Logan who answered from his piloting post:

- "What have they done to her! I'm gonna tell ya what they've done to her! Durin' these six weeks, those rotten bastards've spent their time beatin', torturin' and rapin' her!"

The information had been caustic.

- "Oh god, no…" begged Storm, clasping her hands to her mouth, the other young mutants had turned white, and even Rogue, who normally remained stoic appeared to be shocked at the news.

Scott kept on stroking Jean's face and kissing her tenderly on the forehead, while she remained unresponsive. Storm deduced from this that he might have already known, and in a quivering voice asked Logan:

- "Ho…how do you know that ?" she questioned, still hoping that this was only a guess.

- "Cyke and I've heard two of the members boastin' about it !" he grumbled, the anger making him tighten his grip on the Jet's controls "Believe me, they'll never ever boast about anythin' anymore !"

Scott finally declared in a firm voice:

- "Please, could you avoid speaking about that in front of her !" he said, referring to Jean "She's probably hearing us, the fact she doesn't react doesn't mean that this not hurting her"

Ororo nodded, wiping one of her tears, as the other students had turned their attention toward Kevin, the adolescent they had set free, in order to not dwell on what they had just learned, though each couldn't help but ask themselves if Logan meant that he and Scott had killed the guards.

- "Yes, you're right, sorry, that's…oh my god…" said Storm, unable to find her words.

She sighed, cast a glance full of sorrow toward Jean, and gathered her mind before going to search in a bag from which she pulled out a syringe:

- "I'll inject her with this sedative Hank gave me in case it was necessary, this'll make her sleep"

After having managed to find a vein not hidden by a bruise or one of her numerous wounds, she softly administered the drug as Scott had resumed tenderly speaking to the adolescent, keeping her hand in his without gripping it too hard, fully conscious of the ordeal she had been through. Like before, she didn't react, but slowly closed her eyes as the sedative was seizing her. Once she had fallen asleep Scott kissed her tenderly, two tears clearing their way out of his visor; seeing Jean in such a state, covered by blood, abused, seemed to be a vision right extracted right from his worst nightmares.

- "I…I don't even feel her through our bond…" said Scott in a quivering voice "It's as if her mind was…"

- "It's because of the necklace Scott, It's containing her powers. We're afraid that it would only worsen her state if they surface immediately." Storm answered gently, tears running on her cheeks as well, as she was sitting near the couch where her student lay "She'll come back, but she'll need time…"

* * *

As soon as they arrived, Hank took charge of Jean with the assistance of Ororo, leaving the others in the waiting. Having dropped Kevin at his parents on the 'road' –he wasn't wounded and Madison wasn't out of the way – The X-Men were home once again, and those who participated in the rescue related what happened to those who had not gone. Scott stayed silent, pacing in front of the infirmary entrance.

Three and half an hour later, Hank went to join them in the common-room situated near of the infirmary. The Professor had gathered everybody, and most of X-Men sat on the sofas; Scott was looking out the window, his shoulder leaning against the pane, Logan had focused his attention to the fire cracking in the hearth, his hand leaned on the beam, Storm went to sit and buried her face in her hands.

The Professor's voice broke the silence of the room.

- " I already know that Kitty and Kurt have informed you about what they have learned on the topic of what has happened to Jean ; that's why I consider that it would be useless to hide from you anything about the results of the exams that Hank has just completed, because the more you know, the more you will be able to understand what she has undergone." he sighed and added "Nevertheless, if some of you prefer not hearing what will come next, I won't require you to stay"

Nobody moved.

- "Hank ?" he invited him.

Beast spoke, his face was stunned, marked by the tiredness, by what he had just seen. Actually, he felt guilty to have such ideas , but he had begun to think that Jean was deserving to fall asleep forever because for him it seemed to be impossible to survive at what she had been through; when he had cleaned her in order to examine her, the water turned blood red ….

- "I've carried out all the necessary exams on Jean. The reason which made it last so long was the number of wounds and some fractures, overall the opened one, which needed to be immediately operated, and I wanted to do it as best as I could in order to give her the less scars possible. Having said that, chirurgical repairing will still be needed" he began "The beating and tortures were violent, the X-rays have revealed numerous other fractures sometimes even multiple : her two legs, her right wrist and arm, three fingers, two ribs ; two others are cracked, one of them seemed to have been broken but has already began to knit, like it was the case for too other fingers but for them I had to make something in order to let them knit correctly." he commenced with difficulty, thinking about the suffering she must endure "The fractures having broken clean, apart from the opened one, I've been able to reduce them without surgical intervention; the ones of the legs seemed to date from the day before minimum, I don't know what they'd intended to do to her in the lab, maybe to reduce them to keep her alive given that she was beginning to have a strong fever due to some wounds infected.

Ororo interrupted him by remembering what Kevin had said about the two other mutants:

- "No, in fact I believe they were about to kill her" she declared "The lad we have saved told us that the two other mutants had been killed by…by assisting at their own dissection…"

- "Oh my god" said a voice.

Charles waited an instant before asking:

- "Carry on"

Hank coughed, gathering his mind :

- "So, well… that's not all, she has lost a lot of blood, she's suffering from severe malnutrition and dehydration, and a slight hypothermia. She lost quite a weight. Her body is covered by bruises, cigarette burns or other ones, some wounds were deep, some already healed, her left shoulder was dislocated. I've found in her blood some residual traces of drugs, but not of the ones which appeases the pains, on the contrary, they wanted her to stay conscious, but they seemed to have stopped to use this way some days ago…It's…it's like if they wanted to test all kind of tortures possible and imaginable, like if they were looking for them to act as guinea pigs…"

Scott sighed and bit his lower lip, despite the cover of his ruby-quartz sunglasses, there wasn't any doubt that he had closed his eyes, he knew it was the truth, Kevin had told them. Hank cast him a compassionate glance and carried on with a more distressed voice than before:

- "I've effectively established that she's been raped for numerous ways, at least three or four times in the 72 last hours" he said, letting them know the furthest back he could confirm this.

A sudden bang made them startle, Scott had just given an infuriated punch to the window frame. Logan closed his eyes and said by clenching his teeth:

- "It happened once today, if we rely on what we've heard, and apparently it was far from exceptional …"

Hank nodded gravely, understanding that the fact she had had unreduced fractures and one opened and bleeding profusely hadn't even stopped them. Remaining silent on this point, knowing that some X-Men had yet understood that, he added:

- "The repeated rapes had let her internal lesions and rips which will need time to heal. They haven't gotten her pregnant. Her body was too weak for a pregnancy in the beginning, but I've taken the proper precautions to ensure that the last ones don't do it; and they haven't transmitted any STD to her. But they've moreover pushed the obscenity as far as to branding her with the initials '_FOH'_ for '_Friends Of Humanity_', the mark seemed to be weeks old, I'll do what I can to try to erase it." he said with difficulty, still having a hard time recovering from the atrocious sight of Jean's ravaged body ; if they hadn't found her, she wouldn't have held more than two days without medical-care, her body was on touching its end. "Well, I've done what was needed for the physical wounds, but for the others ones, it's something else ; I fear that she'll never be the same …"

A heavy silence settled in, each of them wearing an afflicted look, not even able to imagine what Jean had undergone during these six weeks.

- "I have placed mental shields in her mind to block her powers" said the Professor in a voice marked by his sorrow "But not completely, I have left the necessary for the bond between she and Scott. I think that she will have enough difficulties to recovering from what had happened without having to also cope with the brutal force of her powers coming back; Moreover psychic-powers need a great control, and she would risk not being able too keep them in check, and..."

Scott didn't listen longer, he left the room and went to the med-bay.

Upon his arrival, he stopped a while at the door before going slowly toward Jean. She was inert, laid on the examination table. She was wearing a minerve, bandages and splints were letting themselves guess under the cover which was covering her, the ones of her arm, her wrist and her fingers were appearing in the open. Now that she wasn't covered by blood anymore, she seemed paler than never and the wound and bruises were appearing distinctly, her face was swollen…

On the lightening boards were the radios whom Hank had spoken, some bloodstained bandages and the old gown she was wearing had been thrown in the garbage, the stitch kit was still on a tray. Her hair was cleaned, dried and brushed, giving the contrast even more noticeable.

Once he was near her, Scott softly brushed her face marked by several bruises, tempting to avoid the worst ones, by fear of hurting her despite her unconsciousness. Hank had sutured the cut of her forehead and covered it with a bandage; Jean had stitches on the edge of her mouth and at one at the arch of her eyebrows. She was still as much feverish. Beast had put her oxygen spectacles (this rubber tubing which passes in front of the nose and behind the ears) for helping her to breath, she was on a drip and blood transfusion, her cardiac rhythm was under the surveillance of a heart monitor like were her cerebral waves.

Scott caught a chair and sat near Jean, feeling horribly bad to see her in this state; he had found her, but was afraid to lose her again, he had the feeling to hear the howls she must have had under the torture. His eyes filled themselves with tears.

- "Jean, I…"

He heard footsteps behind him and immediately recognized them as Hank's.

- "When will she wake up ?" he asked without even turning himself.

- "Honestly Scott, I don't know" answered Beast "The sedative and anaesthetics have cessed their effects, but when you found her, you've to know that she was dying. I've countered the infections and haemorrhages, but her organism is really weak and has still a lot to do to repair the physical damages she has endured"

Scott sighed, this wasn't answering his question and Hand understood it immediately:

- "In one day, maybe two. Her oedemas are quite impressive, I know it, and I can assure you that she won't have any scars on her face, except for one or two thin one. Other than that, she'll become as beautiful as before."

* * *

The young leader of the X-Men didn't leave Jean'side until the following evening where he had to join the others for a new reunion with the Professor. All seemed to haven't sleep a lot, overall the ones who, like him, had participated to the rescue-mission.

- "As you know, Jean hasn't yet regain conscious, but she's henceforth off the danger list"

- "So why, like, she doesn't wake up ?" asked Kitty.

- "It's possible that her body wants to take advantage of this state where she's not suffering, but this won't be enough to keep her unconscious" made notice Hank "Her fever has fallen, she's on drip for one and a half day which allowed her to regain some strength, so I think that it's a matter of hours"

Ororo stood up and said to the students:

- "I just wanted to tell you that we'll reinforce your security outside of the Institute" she said "You were yet moving only by group, but henceforth, if Scott is not free to bring you back home, Logan or I will do it"

Nobody made an objection. The Professor seemed lost for some seconds and declared:

- "She has just woken up"

At this new, the little group leaded to the med-lab to see that Jean had effectively woken up and didn't seem to be still as lethargic as when they had found her. Having said that, they were far to doubt of her reaction…

The young mutant seemed to be groggy, but as soon as she saw them she opened wide her eyes (she had one black eye) and gasped in fear, began to move back –tearing away her drip and the different captors, linking her between others at the heart-monitor, in the same time– and, even before they could have warned her, briskly fell of the examination table. Despite the shock and the pain it must have provoked judging by her moan, she didn't stop and kept on crawling herself the fastest possible at the other side of the room where she curled up as she could, quivering, the jerky respiration, the gaze full of horror _She was lost, they were about to kill her, so where was she? Who were these people? Why has she been cured? It could only be for making her suffering even more._

- "Move back !" said Scott "She's frightened by us, we're scaring her"

_This voice wasn't an unknown one…she doesn't remember anymore._

They only could admit it and all of them complied with it and got out of the room.

- "We can't let her in this state of panic" said Hank "She risks to enter in Tachycardie, to hurt herself or to cut herself from the world again ; the sedative I've administrated to her again, still clouding the pains and given that I've slightly doped her organism, she may not pass out"

- "What d'ya suggest ? You well see that we're scarin' her" said notice Logan.

- "Maybe were we just too numerous" observed Beast "Storm, you should try, she can put up more with a woman presence"

- "There were women too where she was detained" replied Ororo "Even if they haven't raped her, they've maybe tortured her"

- "We've to try in any case" insisted Hank before turning himself toward Nightcrawler "Kurt, I need you to go and fetch the product placed on the platform, on the right of the X-rays, do you see it ?"

- "Ya"

- "Well, so you teleport yourself and you bring it to me with the new-syringe placed next to it"

Kurt done what had been asked to him –provoking only a brief reaction from Jean, his appearance having being only momentary– and gave the objects to Beast, who filled the syringe with the necessary measuring out.

- "Here is, I haven't put the same quantity than the one you've given to her before" he said at Storm "This won't put her to sleep immediately, but only calm her, she'll stay conscious; it'd be useless to keep her indefinitely in an artificial slumber.

Ororo nodded, took the syringe and softly entered in the room. Seeing that Jean was reacting in the same way than previously, closing her eyes by moments, searching to protect herself with her arms, Storm tried to calm her by the voice :

- "Jean, Jean, it's me, Ororo, I mean you no harm" she said gently by carrying on moving forward, but nothing changed if Jean had been able to go through the walls, she would have done it and the weather witch had to resolve herself to turn back.

Each mutant tried an entrance, but the reaction was always the same and this even more if it was a man.

- "Nobody can approach her, she's literally terrorized…" commented sadly Storm "It's as if she doesn't recognize us"

- "She's too much panicked to be able to see the difference between her friends and her torturers" explained Hank "And effectively the traumatism could have twisted her memory"

The Professor seemed to support his thesis and declared:

- "You are right, she doesn't know where she is nor who we are and what we want from her. Scott, you will be the one to try again, you two have always been really close, moreover before her kidnapping, you are the one she trusted the most, and maybe this has stayed fixed in herself despite the traumatism" he said to him "But before all, I will calm her by telepathy"

Charles placed a hand against his temple and concentrated:

_Jean_ began the Professor.

In the room, the young mutant who hadn't stopped quivering startled brutally, the blood beading on the back of her hand, where has been placed the drip, followed the movement and run out on her skin.

_Jean, you have to settle down, we…_

She caught her head between her hands, moaning, and the Professor ended by giving up and by going out of her mind, shaking the head with a distressed look.

- "She is rejecting me, she is afraid" he said "There are so much horrible images, abominable recalls of suffering and terror, which are haunting her, I…" a tear cleared a way on his cheek and he dried it with the back of his hand it was so much hurting him to see Jean in this state, she who he considered like his own daughter. "Excuse me"

Storm laid a comforting hand on his shoulder.

- "Scott, I will do it again, but without speaking to her, this will calm her enough to allow you to approach her" he said to him before concentrating again.

Effectively, in the recess of the room where she had taken refuge, Jean's breathing ended by slowing down.

- "Good" said Hank by giving the syringe to Cyclops "It's relatively easy to find a vein on the interior side of her left wrist."

Scott nodded and went into the room; here again, Jean tensed but didn't enter in the state of panic which had shaken her until now, the Professor's intervention had worked.

Arrived near her, he kneeled at her sides.

- "I won't hurt you Jean" he said softly to her before approaching a paper handkerchief of her hand "You're bleeding"

She tensed at the approach and at the contact of the tissue on her skin, but she hadn't the strength to resist. With still as much softness in his voice, Scott explained to her what he was about to do:

- "I'll inject to you a slight sedative, you'll feel better after" he murmured to her before repeating "I won't hurt you"

_Why was this man seemed to be so kind? Why wasn't he throwing himself on her like the others? Why wasn't he beating her for not being as much responsive? _So many questions were turning in her head._ It must be a trick, if she fell in the trap she would suffer even more._

Jean was staring at him by intermittence, all her muscles tensed. He delicately caught her left wrist –she startled and tried to move back– and he administered the product to her.

- "You'll see Jean, it'll be alright, I'll take care of you" he carried on while the sedative was doing its effects.

When she seemed enough quietened down, he prepared himself to carry her:

- "Well, come here, I…"

Jean tensed up again, closing her eyes, a flash coming back to her mind. Through their opened again bond –although in only one-way, but allowing him to feel her emotions– Scott felt the brusque burst of terror and understood his mistake.

- "I'm sorry Jean" he said "I promise you to pay attention to the words I'll pronounce in future, by hoping not to commit another error anymore."

She cast him another glance, her beautiful green eyes were only expressing pain and fear, and looked down again.

- "I'll never hurt you Jean, I love you too much for that" he said before taking her in his arms.

The young mutant moaned in pain and tried to disengage herself despite her weakness, but Scott hadn't the choice, he couldn't let her here. He stood up again and carried her toward the examination table, but, before he leaned her on it, Hank declared:

- "Wait, we'll take advantage of it to settle her in a convalescence-room, she'll be better over there"

Scott nodded and came toward them. As he was going through the little group of students for following Hank, he felt Jean tense and started to quiver.

* * *

To be continued

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	7. Chapter 7

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* * *

As soon he arrived in the room, he leaded toward the bed and leaned her on it:

- "Here, easy" he said before covering her with a blanket and sitting down on the chair placed near the bed.

Jean kept on casting him some haggard looks, staring at him only briefly, seeming to be like on a cloud.. She had forgotten how much a mattress could be comfortable, overall when all your body was aching, how it was agreeable not to have cold. _It was too good to be true. They had made her live a living hell by drugging her into oblivion and then violently brought her back into reality, laughing at her hopelessness. If she wasn't drugged, then it meant that they were allowing her to heal so that they could use her again. After one week or two, everything would start again_.

Seeing that she had trouble to swallow, Scott spoke at Hank who he knew was still at the door.

- "I think she's thirsty, can she drink?" he asked.

- "Of course, I'll fetch her a glass of water"

He returned some instants later and Scott left briefly Jean's bedside to take the drink. When he came back near her, he helped her to draw herself up a little, and made her drink some sips, which she swallowed mechanically, before leaning her again on the bed. Water, she had in her cell, but in the end she hadn't even the strength to go to the rudimentary bathroom anymore, overall the last two days with her fractures at her legs, she had stayed half-unconscious the most part of the time as the pain was awful; as a matter of fact, she could barely remember the last men who came to rape her when she had a bone at the open, she must have passed out a few time after they had begun their business and had, as they used to, extinguished their cigarettes on her skin.

If Scott hadn't been aware of all the rapes she had undergone, any doubt he would have covered her with kisses and would have held her for a long time; but he had to stop himself from doing it, he knew she wouldn't bear it. So, he was contented by resting by her sides and wanted to take her hand and caress her cheek, but she escaped his contact as lively the sedative was allowing her.

- "Jean, I'm so much sorry for what they've done to you…" he breathed "I love you more than my own life, I can't bear the simple idea that they'd have hurt you, I'd have wanted so much to spare you it…"

_"Jean", they kept on calling her like that instead of "mutie", "bitch", "riffraff", "red" or "red-head". Why? Was it her name? They were scaring her, she was so tired, she would want to sleep, but she had to stay vigil._

She didn't react, some tears were carrying on falling silently on her pale and swollen cheeks.

After some twenty minutes, taking advantage that the sedative was plainly efficient for not making her panic again, Hank came closer to replace the drip on the young mutant's wrist.

- "This risk to hurt you a little" said Beast in a soft voice before inserting the catheter in one vein, but Jean didn't blink, she had endured so much worse pains that she might not have felt it at all.

He turned himself to catch a captor which he placed at the extremity of one of the adolescent's fingers, and switched on the monitoring. Then, he began to put in place the protections-bars on the sides of the bed –to prevent what had happened before from arriving again– which provoked a new gasp of fear from Jean who moved back like she could and adopted a self-defence attitude by protecting her face with her valid arm. Scott went on the other side of the bed for preventing her to fall down, and the fact of being stymied didn't settle down the adolescent, on the contrary. Looking down, Hank understood immediately, he knew that, according to the bruises, her fractures may have been caused by a rod of metal or a base-ball bat, and overall that she had been often violently beaten. Suppressing his emotions, Beast tried to settle her down:

- "No Jean, don't be afraid, I won't hit you, it's for protecting you, only for protecting you" he told her before repeating again, "don't be afraid Jean"

But she didn't relax, it was too much for her and this even if Hank had removed his hands from the metal. Scott on his side was bewildered, he had just made the link between the two and sighed to stand this umpteenth reality, before quickly putting in place the protections-bars on the other side of the bed.

- "Scott, I think we have to leave her alone now, I believe she won't calm down and won't sleep as long as someone will be in the room, and this even if the sedative will push her into it the more and more" Hank told him

- "But…"

- "He's right, Scott" supported the Professor.

- "Yes, I know…"

He had again to stop himself from kissing her although all his being wanted to feel her alive against him.

- "I love you Jean" he breathed before standing up and leaving the room reluctantly.

_This voice, this sensation which was provoking her, was evoking something deep inside of her. But quickly, the sleep took over her._

**

* * *

**

At the entrance of the room, the others Institute's members were wearing a drawn look, Logan was comforting an Ororo crying silently, the Professor had the glance down, the students were feeling powerless in front of what they had just seen and what they had learned. Everybody went to the common-room more or less silently. It's here that Scott let go his anger; without warning, he sent a vase crash on the ground and cried out with rage and pain:

- "Bunch of bastard, I should have killed all of them !"

- "Scott…" tried the Professor.

Rogue, Kurt and Kitty had looked up, so Cyclops and Logan had well killed during the rescue mission… even if it should have, this confirmation didn't shock them.

- "No, I'm sorry Professor but that's all they deserved ! They…but look at what they've done to her !"

- "This is revoltin' us too Scott !" said dryly Logan; but the adolescent kept on his way :

- "They've literally massacred her, they've branded her like cattle; and, they may have not raped her **one** or **two** time, but **about fifty, **do you realise that ! **about fifty** !" he cried out "How do you want her to recover from that ? Have you seen her gaze ? She's afraid of us and doesn't recognize us for crying out loud ! She's afraid of us… and she's afraid of me…" he ended in a broken voice, sinking on the sofa, his face on his hands.

- "We know it Scott, but unfortunately we cannot change anything" supported Storm more calmly, "Scott, you've to hold on, she'll need you, even if for the moment she rejects you like all of us."

- "She'll regain her memory about us and her life here" added Beast "she only has a slight cerebral commotion, not a brain-trauma, we've to give her time".

Charles resumed:

- "I understand that you could feel anger and rancour Scott, this shows how much you love her, and I would have you know that I don't judge you for what you have done" he began before speaking at everybody "Those men had laid their hands on her in the worst way possible, now we will have to teach to her to trust again, to accept our presence and the contacts, and this will be long ; we don't know how she will evolve and we will have to be extremely careful and patient toward her"

All of them gravely nodded.

- "We can't do something for making those monsters pay ?" asked Tabitha.

Logan shook his head.

- "The government'd denied their existence, the most part of its members are against us"

- "I will inform my contacts" said Charles "But I am well afraid Logan is right, at least for the moment, as long as the repercussions of the Sentinel'story won't be over"

- "And what if we track them down by ourselves?" proposed Evan "Scott's right, that's all they deserve!"

- "We're not assassins Evan" said Ororo.

- "But Wolverine and Cyclops have, like, killed" noticed Kitty.

- "It was different, they have been pushed by their anger, it wasn't premeditated" answered the Professor "If we were hunting down on purpose the survivors and the ones who weren't there at the moment of the rescue, this would make of us criminals"

- "But what if we only bring them to the justice?" asked Rogue.

- "That is what I will do Rogue, but with the help of contacts who won't let them out of their sight and will arrest them when the time will come. I will have to make a list of identities by brushing Jean's mind"

- "All the best" muttered Logan.

- "And as for myself," said Hank. "I'll keep a diary and have taken pictures of Jean's state on her arrival which will be added into the examination's file. We can use it as evidence for the eventual trials. Besides, there's Kevin who had been kidnapped too"

A hubbub took place in the room, the students chatting between themselves. The Professor asked for the calm and said:

- "It is late, go to bed"

Only Scott was authorized to stay.

* * *

Cyclops couldn't sleep, no more than Logan, who in any way only slept rarely. After having spent the first hours to go check if Jean was fine, Scott ended by leaning himself on one of the sofas where he finished dozing like the other until the break of dawn before waking up with a start.

- "What's up ?" asked Ororo.

He had felt something through the bond he shared with Jean, she was terrorized, briefs flashes of terrible images appeared in his mind and he immediately understood.

- "Jean's having a nightmare" he answered by standing up to go in a hurry to the room.

He had to wake her up, she was reliving something horrible, he knew it. He switched on the light and went to the bedside of a Jean, moving and moaning in her sleep, whose he took the hand as much tenderly as he could.

- "Jean, Jean ! Wake up, that's a nightmare"

The young mutant awake with a start and, when she saw she wasn't alone and that she felt hands surrounding hers, panicked and tried to move back like she had done the first time, but Scott stopped her by her valid forearm.

- "Jean, settle down, I mean you no harm !"

In her gaze, a light of terror and pain was accompanying the quivers and the sudden acceleration of her cardiac and breathing rhythm's, she was still struggling to set herself free, but still without pronouncing a word.

- "Jean, you can read in me, remember our bond Jean" he told her in a soft and reassuring voice " read in me, you'll see how much I love you, how much I would be incapable of hurting you"

_What was he talking about? About what was he talking? She didn't know him, she wanted him to release her…Suddenly, she felt something entered her mind, a kind of connection with this young man, something soft and agreeable. He wouldn't hurt her. He was worried, he wanted to take her in his arms for…for comforting her? He loved her?...She was everywhere in his mind, well and smiling, in love with him…Yes, here is, some recollections were coming back to her mind…but he was a man, he was a man, they were cruel and violent even more than the women…but not him… He was angered but not against her, against them, the ones who had destroyed her_.

For an instant, Scott thought she wasn't going to calm down, that he'd have to leave her again, but Jean ended by slightly steadying herself and the adolescent could release his grips without she take advantage of it for trying to move away.

- "Nobody here will hurt you Jean, we'll protect you, **_I will_** protect you" he carried on in a soft voice "You're secure now and I want you to know that I'd give my life for nobody to attack you anymore, and I'd have done it if it could have spared you this"

- "Scott" said Hank's voice.

Jean startled and moved back again. The monitoring witnessed the new brusque acceleration of her heart-beat and, if the protection-bars of the bed hadn't been in place she would have probably fell on the ground again.

- "Shhhhh, it's nothing, don't worry…"

Understanding that he was the cause of this sudden burst of terror, Beast went out of Jean' sight, reassured to see her seemed to be tolerating Scott's presence. For not breaking the charm, he used the Professor as a telepathic messenger whose voice didn't be long to resound in the adolescent's mind.

_Scott, Hank has a dose of tranquilliser for Jean, it would be good if you could administer it to her by her drip_

Scott nodded, he was well seeing that the simple fact of breathing was hurting Jean; he breathed to her that he'd come back immediately, and went to fetch the drug which he injected as asked, relieved to see that it seemed to quickly soothe the pains the young mutant was enduring from all her physicals wounds.

When, some minutes later, its effect was whole, Charles'voice was projected again in his mind:

_Scott, Rogue will come in, she has something for Jean_

The X-Men leader's was somehow surprised, but didn't show it. Rogue entered slowly in the room, Jean tensed up, but Scott achieved to quieten her down with words, the young mutant being in any way knocked by the sedative.

Rogue cast a glance at Scott. To Rogue, Jean looked as if she had been disfigured, but Hank had told them that the bruises would disappear. She spoke at the telepath with a bad assured voice:

- "Jean, we…Ah dunno if ya remember me…we weren't really friends… but yesterday night me and the others have gathered together an' we made ya this…" she declared by placing in front of her a frame of pictures where had been put together all kind of photos recuperated in all the Institute representing Jean, smiling, radiant, with all the students and professors of the establishment. On the glass they've marked each person'name and some details "We've told ourselves that it may help ya to remember us and that we're yar friends…to remember that we're here for ya…"

Jean briefly put her glance on the frame, but her face stayed neutral of all kind of emotion, the sedative had let her in a woolly-world where the pain, at least the one of physical order, seemed to have left her a little alone. She was groggy, but she recognized the one who was near her on one picture, the one who was inspiring a relative trust to her even if she wasn't seeing his eyes. Below, it was noted: _"Scott Summers, your best friend and even more, the one you love and who loves you more than anything in the world" _

Outside of the room, the Professor Xavier slightly smiled, the events seemed to have erased the resentments of Rogue toward Jean. He was proud that his students had had such a good idea and realised that he was so much preoccupied by the young telepath the day before that he hadn't even noticed that his others students weren't sleeping.

* * *

During the month and a half which followed, Jean's psychic state didn't get better, she seemed to tolerate only Scott even if this one was also scaring her when he was appearing, but she always ended by settling down even without sedative. It turned out quickly that she didn't fall asleep without tranquillizing given probably of the numerous pains she was feeling and of the perpetual fear which was haunting her. She was in a lot of pain, but wasn't complaining, as if she didn't feel it at all, but with the bond she was sharing with Scott, it wasn't going unnoticed. She was also refusing to eat, but Hank found a method: by feeding her under sedative, her resistance was weakened and she swallowed by automatism which Scott gave her.

It's Ororo who was taking charge to clean her, and that only under general anaesthesia, without which the young mutant would never accept to be touched; Hank had preferred to do it like that rather than letting her conscious because she could have thought that they were taking advantage of her vulnerability and would have lived it as new rapes. Her bruises took a violet/yellow colour before disappearing progressively, Hank was right, she had recovered her pretty face, some thin scars in addition, and its light in less. He had made the chirurgical repairing needed and erased, between else, the horrible "FOH" mark on her skin.

All sudden movement was banished because they were immediately making her take a self-protection attitude due to the several beating she had endured. She didn't speak anymore; Beast hadn't found any medical reason, but everybody knew that this was due to her traumatism; Jean would maybe speak again when she'd be ready, even if this block might now be more unconscious than linked to her simple will. As a matter of fact, she wasn't communicating in any way and stayed most of the time like in another world, her glance lost in space, without answering to Scott's encouragements for making her look or talk at him. But if he moved, she was pulled off her lethargy with a start. In these moments, Jean wasn't as much lethargic as she has been when they had found her, but she wasn't for all that receptive, that's only from the fifth week that she began to pay a little more attention to Scott.

As a matter of fact, these six first weeks, the last of her sequestration, Jean had seen it melt away rapidly and by intermittence, going out of her drugging sleep only for some hours a day.

* * *

The holidays being finished, the students had had to return at school since a week. Even if Scott had difficulties to spend the day far of Jean whereas she needed him, he knew the Professor was right, if they missed the classes for too long, the principal Kelly would made no bones about expelling them and would probably not listen to their reasons. Jean's absence was now official due to her physical and mental state. The members of the Institute knew that Jean's kidnapping was known to everyone because of the researches the X-Men had done but they didn't know what had happened to her.. It was obvious that she would never come back to school again. The only comforting news Scott had was from Hank who told him that Jean was sleeping during almost all his absence. Thanks to the sedative he injected into her.

The math session had just touched at its end, it was the last one of the day and Scott was about to rush out when….

- "Scott, can I have a word with you?" asked professor Malcom, one of the rare human being who hadn't had a change of heart since their identities as mutants were revealed.

* * *

To be continued

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	8. Chapter 8

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* * *

- "Scott, can I have a word with you?" asked professor Malcom, one of the rare human being who hadn't had a change of heart since their identities as mutants were revealed.

- "I haven't got a lot of time sir" he answered.

- "I just need one minute. Your results stay mediocre these last times, is something bothering you?"

- "Jean" answered Scott.

- "Oh…yes, I'm an idiot" he reprimanded himself "I know she has been found more than one month ago and I though it'd be better, but I've learned she would not come back, how is she? What happened to her during this kidnapping?"

- "Unspeakable things, she's still in convalescence, and that's just for the physical side…." Answered Scott "Have you yet heard about the 'Friends Of Humanity'?"

- "No"

- "If you hear from them one day, know that this is only the equivalent of an organisation nazi for the mutants…"

The professor Malcom knew that Scott was reserved, particularly because he was a mutant, so he didn't asked precisions.

- "I understand better…Could you send her my best wishes of recovering?"

- "I don't think she remembers you sir, she doesn't even remember us quite well and…well, she's not the Jean you've had as a student anymore" Scott answered quickly.

The professor wasn't thinking it was such serious.

- "I'm sincerely sorry to hear that Scott. If you have trouble with other classes, I'd reasoned the professors. You can go"

- "Thanks professor Malcom" said Scott before going out.

The thoughts filled by Jean, Scott leaded to his locker for tidying away his stuffs. He watched for a while a picture of Jean, smiling and shining placed in the interior, so different of the one of today. When he closed the door, he saw that he had a visitor…

- "What do you want Alvers ?" asked Cyclops in a dry voice.

- "Eh oh, easy, I come in peace" said Avalanche by raising his hands "I've learned about Jean, I mean, the whole version…"

- "I see that Kitty-radio is current again" noticed Scott by thinking to the tendency to speak of the young mutant.

Lance didn't pick up this and made as if he hadn't heard anything, at Scott's greatest surprise; as a matter of fact, Avalanche wasn't wearing the proud and arrogant look he had usually:

- "It's really dreadful what's happened to her" he said with sincerity.

- "Yes, but she's an X-Men, I'd rather thought this might please you"

- "Wait Summers, we aren't in the same side, ok, but that doesn't mean that we'd be delighted by such atrocities, she's an X-Men, but she's a mutant before all"

Scott didn't answer, he had a tendency to be on the nerves, he knew it. Alvers observed him some instants before saying:

- "Well, I hope she'll end by recovering and that the members of this organisation will roast in Hell" he said before moving away to rejoin the remains of his band.

- "Yeah, so do I…" he muttered.

* * *

Jean woke up in a start, needed some instants to place herself, before noticing Hank. By hearing her move, the young mutant couldn't helping herself to take fright, Beast turned himself:

- "I'll leave Jean, I'll leave" he declared immediately by leading to the exit of the room.

The young telepath, finding herself alone again, quietened down little by little, but still seemed like bewildered

- "What's going on?" asked Scott as he has just came back from school and was about to go to see Jean.

- "She has just woken up, and I've the impression that she's looking for you…"

- "You think so? Maybe she's regained her memory?"

- "That's possible"

He was about to enter in the room, but Hank stopped him:

- "I just wanted to tell you that I've made her pass X-Rays sooner, her fractures at her legs are mended, I've removed the splints, but let her a leg brace at her right leg which needs two other weeks because of her double opened fractures. You'll now have to make her work and walk, she'll be able to lean on it without it being painful"

- "To make her work?"

- "Her muscles have lost the custom to carry her weight, she will need re-education and so to make her legs work with flexions and extensions between others"

- "I doubt she'll let herself being manipulated like it, I don't want to break the little trust she had laid on me again…" said Scott.

Hank thought about a moment:

- "You're right, we'll do it otherwise: Storm and me will make her work under sedative, you'll make her walk" he answered "Here is, go to see her"

Scott went in the room, leaving Hank to return in his lab.

When Jean saw him enter, she tensed up momentarily but didn't panic. Like usual, Scott came to sit down at her sides and took her hand:

- "Hey, how do you feel ? I've missed you, you know ? I always miss you when I'm not near you" he said softly by stroking her hair, like she was letting him doing it since several days.

At his great surprise, Jean slightly squeezed his hand for the first time since they had retrieved her, which didn't miss to make appear a big smile on Scott's face. The mutant didn't really react, keeping on looking up at him now and then, although with a less fugitive glance than before, the breathing calm.

- "Do you know what Hank has just told me?" he asked in order to not lingering too much on the move for not making her feel uncomfortable "Your legs are healed, you'll now have to walk, we'll do it in some days ok?"

Jean slightly frowned and cast him a not reassured glance.

- "You're still unable to speak, aren't you? Don't worry, I'll help you and stay with you. You'll have nothing to fear, I'll protect you even if nothing threaten you in this Institute"

Sounds of steps resounded in the corridor and the young mutant tensed up perceptibly.

- "Settle down, I'm here Jean" he said to her in a soft voice before Wolverine's one made itself hear.

- "Scott, can I talk to ya one minute ?" he asked.

- "Of course"

He stood up in the intention to go out an instant, but Jean didn't release his hand.

- "Hey, what's wrong Jean ? You want me to stay, it's that ?" he asked, delighted of the second positive reaction of his girlfriend.

She slowly nodded, answering at a question for the first time.

- "Logan? can this wait?" he asked, knowing that he had also witnessed the scene.

- "Yeah, of course" he answered with a rare smile.

* * *

Letting them alone, Logan descended in the kitchen where he found Ororo cocking a meal for Jean by chatting with the Professor Xavier.

- "You'll never guess what's just happened" he said by going to catch a beer.

- "So, in this case, tell us" asked Ororo.

- "I wanted to ask somethin' to Scott, and Jean has not let him got out of the room, she's restrained him by the hand and has even nodded when he's asked her if she wanted him to stay"

The two professors smiled:

- "This is an excellent sign" said the weather witch "she's staying dumb, but starting again to communicate"

- "Yes, it seems that Jean is replacing her trust into Scott and this even if he is a man, apparently she's regaining her memory in Hank's opinion" approved the Professor Xavier "In fact I believe she remembers him since a long time, otherwise she wouldn't have let him come near to her. She persists to fear us, but I think that, once she will be again perfectly comfortable with him, he would be able to help her to open up again to us"

Storm stayed pensive before declaring in a sorrowed voice by slowly shaking her head:

- "I…I can't even achieve to imagine what she might have undergone, she's really covered by marks, you know ? Well, Hank had removed the stitches and the bruises had disappeared during the first two weeks, but there are still the numerous scars and they won't help her to forget…in any way she'll never be able to forget what they've made her endure…" she began "I've sometimes trouble to accept that the ones by who we're trying to be admit can be able to do that to an adolescent of eighteen years old… she's so young, they've completely broken her, they've literally destroyed her …."

- "The ones who did that to her were fanatics Ororo" said the Professor "Humans have already committed such atrocities towards others humans, and this at whatever century. Believe me, I am as much horrified than you and I understand that Scott and Logan could have killed after what they had heard, I don't approve that, but I think I couldn't have been able to control myself neither. When, the very day Jean has regained consciousness, Scott has said Jean may have been raped about fifty times, I couldn't admit to him than, in Hank's opinion, it must rather be the double…. But, if we were looking for obtaining the mutants'supremacy –like Magneto wants – and by this, judging our kind superior than another one, we wouldn't worth better than those so-called 'Friends Of Humanity'"

Storm nodded.

- "I know it, I'm sorry, it's just that…"

- "I understand Ororo, and the fact that you had expressed your doubts let think that the students may be feeling the same thing, we will organize a little meeting to speak about that"

- "Well, I…I'll bring the meal to Scott" said Storm, looking shaken.

Logan leaned a hand on her shoulder and declared:

- "Let me take care of that, you'd go to rest a while"

Storm thanked him and let him return to Jean's convalescence-room.

* * *

A week later, when Scott came back from high-school, he leaded like usually toward Jean and talked to her some minutes before declaring:

- "Do you remember what was planned to do today? You've got to walk Jean"

She didn't seem enjoyed by this news.

- "Uh huh, no way out possible, the Doctor Mc Coy has insisted, you have to do it the fastest possible now that Storm and he have made you worked a little" he said by giving her a reassuring smile "So, to begin, you'll have to sit on the edge of the bed"

Jean cast him an uncertain glance, but ended by complying. Under the sedative, Storm had put on her a pull and a pant on which was the leg brace on her right leg.

Scott let her take her time, without rushing her, and sat down beside her:

- "Don't forget, I'll stay with you, I'll help you, you've nothing to fear" he began "If you want you can put your arm around my shoulders for leaning on me. You've stayed immobilized for a month and a half, you've a little decreased muscular tone. Can I…can I pass mine around your waist for sustaining you ?" he asked, concerned not to do anything which could make her feel uncomfortable.

The young mutant thought then nodded but, when she felt his arm, she couldn't prevent her body from reacting and tensing up. She closed her eyes and bit her lower lip.

- "That wasn't a good idea" said Scott in an apologized tone by beginning to remove his arm, but she stopped him and replaced it around her waist "You're sure ? I don't want to scare you Jean, will you be all right ?" he asked.

She sighed heavily and nodded. Ready, Scott made her slide of the bed and both of us found themselves on their feet. Jean leaned heavily on him, he was right, her legs felt like jelly.

- "That's a good beginning" commented Scott, smiling "If you feel you're not all right, you let me know it ok? Well now, you have to make a step" he encouraged her.

She moved her right leg, by slightly wincing even if the leg brace was easily supporting her weight.

- "All right, I know it's hard. Carry on, the other leg now"

She tried but would have collapsed if Scott wasn't sustaining her.

- "It'll be ok, I'm holding you. We'll start again"

He began to help her to walk slowly by sustaining her by the waist.

* * *

For two weeks, they made exercises of this kind everyday and Storm and Hank carried on making her work on their side; Then, Scott felt she was ready for a longer path.

- "We'll go in the common-room over here, there isn't anybody, don't worry"

Jean still had some difficulties to walk, since that Hank had now removed her leg brace, and the anguish she was feeling wasn't helping her, but Scott was here and his presence was quietening her down. He let her go at her rhythm and they covered the some twenty meters which were parting the two rooms.

Just a little distance could say some ones, indeed, but for Jean it was a big step and this sudden exercise, added to the emotions, quickly tired her. Scott noticed it and proposed to her to sit down on one of the sofas in order she could rest a while. Only a few seconds after having settled, he felt a quiver going through the adolescent's body and, thinking it was because of his arm he hadn't had the time to remove, wanted to take it off, but she made him understand that she didn't want him to do it, she was only a little cold. Scott caught the travelling rug put near him and covered her with it.

- "Are you all right ?" he asked.

She nodded, she wasn't relaxed but this wasn't because of him, no, she remembered him, she felt secured again with him, overall when he had his arm around her waist ; his presence was enough to quieten her down, she was feeling through their bond all his love and his desire to help her and to make her feel comfortable

After about ten minutes, in order to avoid that other students coming in the room made panic Jean whereas everything had been all right until now, Scott helped the young mutant to stand up again and they made the inverse way until she stopped and…

… _no…_ said a familiar voice, although broken and hesitating, in Scott's mind …_my bedroom…not here … my bedroom…_

Even before the adolescent could recover from his surprise and answer, Hank appeared in the corridor and Jean startled, her heart jumped in her chest. Her eyes closed, she felt a shiver overwhelming her and going down in her, her blood went cold and she felt she would pass out. She snuggled a little more against Scott, her legs giving way beneath her.

- "I'm here Jean, don't worry" he breathed to her by sustaining her

Hank had stopped; he smiled slightly by seeing the proximity the telepath seemed to be allowing again to Scott, it was a good thing.

- "Not seeing her in the convalescence-room and knowing you were back from high school, I've thought you might be making her walk" he said in a calm voice "Is it going well ?"

- "She still needs again a little of re-education, but she's well managing" answered Scott, leaning a glance on her, before changing of subject "Tell me Hank, she doesn't want to stay below anymore and would want to return to her bedroom, is it possible ?"

Beast seemed astonished:

- "Jean, you've talked ?" he asked at the adolescent, not wanting to act as if she wasn't here only because she was staying dumb, and overall by avoiding to nicknamed her 'Red' or 'Redhead' which she didn't bear anymore (like Logan and Scott had guessed after what they had heard, her torturers might been calling her like that).

- "No, she made me know it through our bond" answered Scott for her; it was the first time since her return that she did that, the first time she was almost 'verbally' communicating.

Jean had curled up her head in his neck and was trying to settle down her body reactions' and the renewed outbreak of her fears. Even though Beast did not look like a human, he wasn't less scaring the young mutant; she recognized him now, like the others, she knew they were her friends, but she couldn't stay relaxed in their presence, only Scott almost didn't arouse anymore in her those fears henceforth rooted inside herself.

- "I don't see any reason to oppose myself for letting her return to her bedroom, on the contrary, finding her marks again will maybe help her" answered Hank "I'll inform the others to spare them from worrying"

Scott nodded and thanked him. Seeing that Jean wasn't really holding on her legs anymore, he warned her and took her in his arms before leading toward the elevator.

When they arrived in the adolescent's room, Scott carried her to the bed and settled her on.

- "Nothing have changed here you see ? I've often came here when…when you had disappeared, I had the feeling to feel you near me again" he said before resuming directly on something else in order not to linger too much on the evocation of her kidnapping. "Do you want me to bring you something to eat or to drink ?"

* * *

To be continued

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Wen


	9. Chapter 9

Thants for the reviews !

Sorry for the delay, I thought I had yet updated...

Read and please review!

* * *

She shook her head which was resting on her cushion, her eyes were beginning to close themselves alone. Scott covered her with a blanket and stayed near her even when she had fallen asleep, knowing that without sedative her slumber wouldn't be really long and overall not peaceful; as a matter of fact, everybody now was used to hear her wake up with a scream in the middle on the night.

* * *

During the two big weeks which followed, Scott was particularly patient toward Jean for making her go out of her bedroom and beginning to bring her in other places of the Institute. Then, by being warned, some students came in without paying attention to her for not stressing her. Those experiences turned often to a sudden end, going sometimes until she passed out, but she got used to it so, Scott was here and reassuring her. He came then with her in places yet occupied; and, finally, Scott livened up the things by convincing her to come and join him in different places of the Institute, by letting her doing the way alone. This was difficult, for her as for him who was feeling her fear through their bond, but it had to be done.

* * *

One week later, at the end of April, Jean was able to evolve in the Institute alone and this even without Scott's presence. She used nevertheless to stay in her bedroom, where she had a tendency for spending hour to clean herself in a compulsive way, but nobody could reproach it to her; however, contrary to the ancient Jean they knew, she wasn't paying importance to her appearance anymore… She was still dumb and fearful toward the others, but accepted to see them in the same room than her as long as they didn't approach her and that there wasn't any tobacco or certain alcohol smell. Wolverine, being the only one to smoke or to drink, was beginning his fourth month of abstinence without problems, the cigars and beers having always been only a pleasure for him, his mutation protecting him from all dependences ; Jean had so, without knowing it, been successful where the Professor Xavier had failed.

Amara and Tabitha were in the living-room; today they had ended class sooner and had settle themselves in front of the television. The reportage on a volcano having just entered in eruption that Magma wanted to see on LCI being only broadcasted in 30 minutes, they had let the box switched on with the tone down. They weren't paying attention to what was passing on the screen, preferring to chat, and made a one meter jump when Jean, who was in the same room than they, let fall the frame of pictures she had in her shacking hands.

**_He_**_…no… it wasn't possible…it was one of them…she couldn't bear it…she couldn't bear it…_

- "Jean ?" asked the two young girls who had turned themselves toward her and were seeing her like frozen, white as a sheet..

- "…no….no…no…no…" articulated the young mutant, surprising by the same way Magma and Boom-Boom who were hearing her speaking for the first time since her return; but with a broken and frightened voice, all the contrary of the one with which they knew her.

The telepath seemed to be terrorized; she had started to move back by trembling, the gaze locked on the television screen where a man of about forty, bearded, the skin-head, was resisting to the cops arresting him and seemed to be yelling something to the journalist and the cameraman shooting the scene. Tabitha didn't search further more and switched off the box, yet, Ororo and Logan were appearing.

- "Jean ? settle down, it's gonna be all right"

But she wasn't calming down, on the contrary. She seemed to suddenly notice their presences and this wasn't for quietening her down. She was wearing a terrorized gaze, they didn't know that it was as if she had returned in this cold and humid cell and that each of them had taken the appearance of one of her torturers, that she had just sunk in a real living nightmare. Her mental shields broke down and her thoughts were projected into their minds.

_/…no…no…not this…let me…/_

She fell back to a wall and couldn't recede anymore, she let herself slide on the ground; her face ravaged by tears, the body shaken by nervous quivers, she curled up on herself. Some objects begun to shake in the room.

Couldn't stay here without doing anything, Ororo came closer to her by speaking softly to her and tried to lean a hand on her hair; but Jean struggled violently and an invisible strength pushed Ororo back, Logan caught her as Jean's thoughts were still running:

_/No…!…no…I beg you…let me die…but don't touch me anymore…no…/_ she stammered in her panic, starting to rock herself like would do a child trying to comfort itself. _/…pity …don't approach me…I can't bear it anymore …I beg you…/_

In front of such a distress, Jean's words in addition, the presents X-Men were feeling extremely saddened and bewildered.

- "Cyke might be comin' back home with Rogue, Kitty and Kurt, we don't have the choice, we have to wait for him to be here. She won't let us approach her and if we try despite this we'll only panic her more, moreover Charles's mental shields seem down, she could hurt someone gravely".

Some objects were projected through the room, confirming Logan's words. Strom nodded, a tear had made its way through one of her cheeks; she was keeping her gaze on Jean, feeling powerless.

_/….no…don't touch me anymore…I beg you…I beg you…/_

- "His arriving!" said Amara by seeing through one of the windows the red-convertible entering quickly into the Institute park's.

- "Go and fetch him, hurry you!" asked Ororo in a disrupted voice.

Amara hadn't waited to be asked to do it and was already running toward the entrance hall, where she only had to wait for the car to stop:

- "Scott!"

- "What's up?" he asked, he knew Jean wasn't well, he was feeling it since they had enter in the Institute's park.

- "It's Jean, she's completely terrorized!"

- "Where is she?"

- "In the living-room! "

- "Kurt, can you teleport me in the kitchen?" asked Cyclops not wanting to appear all of a sudden in the room where was his girlfriend.

- "Immediately!"

In a fraction of seconds, he was in the Institute and was going to the living-room, where he saw Jean, quivering, curled up on herself in a corner, projecting unconsciously images through their bond, letting Scott understand the extent of her terror.

- "Jean"

At the sound of his voice, the mutant slightly drew herself up and, as soon as he was near her, threw herself in his arms, in tears.

/_Scott…get me out of here…don't let them approach me…don't let them…! _/

The adolescent held her tightly against him, an arm around her waist, the other one behind her head, stroking her hair.

- "Never Jean, you don't need to fear anything here, you're in security, you're not back over there, they aren't here" he said softly to her, kissing her on her forehead and her hair. "I'm here, I'm here, everything will be alright now, don't be afraid Jean, don't be afraid…"

After some instants, he stand up and took her in his arms, carrying her to the sofa where he sit down, Jean on his kneels, her face still buried in his neck, sobbing. Through their bond, he could feel all the distress which was holding her on its net and this was hurting him, he wished so much to be able to set her free, to make so as it would have never happened, but it was impossible. He softly rocked her, still speaking to her with the same patience and the same tenderness in the voice:

- "I'm here now Jean, it'll be all right, you don't risk anything here, there are only people who care about you and who would never hurt you"

Five minutes were enough at Scott to help Jean to steady and make her pull out of her awaken nightmare, five more for her to end by falling asleep from nervous exhaustion in his arms, her body shaken by slight starts at times, vestiges of her terror.

- "What has happened ? What had put her in this state ?" he asked in a low voice at the little group which had stayed in the room.

- "I think that's because of the tv-news" said Tabitha while, behind her, Magma was switching on again the box by cutting the sound. "Amara and I were chatting and all of a sudden Jean has released what she was holding in her hands, she had the eyes fixed on the screen and she…she has briefly talked"

- "Yes, it happens to her to speak when she's having a nightmare" confirmed Scott, experimenting that sometimes, when he had to go and wake her up

- "She has only pronounced 'no' at several times, the remains she projected it to us unconsciously I think. Here is what she has seen, they're repeating the news" said notice Amara.

- "Put the sub-tittles" asked Logan as Kitty, Kurt and Rogue were joining them.

The same guy than before was on the TV, the journalist's comments appeared on the bottom of the screen:

- _'This man is suspected of rape with violence of several women ; but, as you can see it, this one is far from denying the facts and even claimed them, it's rather frightening'_

The camera showed the scene where the cops were trying to embark the man:

- _'Yeah, I've fucked them, and what ? There're only bitches, mutants, that's all they deserved ! Believe me, us the **Friends Of Humanity**, we'll get you rid of this riffraff, don't forgot this name ! the **Friends Of Humanity** !' _

The cops seemed to lost patience:

- _'Shut up and get in here !'_

The journalist resumed to speak:

- _'Are we at the dawn of the raising of another kind of Gestapo ? Does the **Friends Of Humanity** really exist ? And if the mutants are the fruits of a degeneration of the Human genetic-code's, do they really deserve despite all such treatments ? This man has also raped a human, will he be judged more severely for this crime than for all the others rapes committed on mutants ? It's wh…_'

- "Turn it off!" asked Ororo, disgusted.

Amara pressed on the remote-control and made in a few assured voice:

- "Now we know why she has been so afraid…"

- "Yeah," breathed Scott in a bitter voice as Jean was curling herself a little more against him in her sleep "Unfortunately, this must be far to be the only one…"

The others sadly nodded.

- "How many more of those monsters are still free ?" asked Rogue in a disgusted tone.

- "By readin' her memory as planned −which hasn't been a picnic− , the Professor has identified quite a few of the members who weren't here the day we've brought back Jeannie. He's done researches and gave the files to his contacts, but that's all he can do, he refused to dirty our hands more than they already are.""

- "So, it's thanks to this that this bastard has been arrested ?" asked Tabitha.

- "Boom-Boom, try not to use such a language please" said Storm even if she was agreeing with her.

- "Yeah, it's possible, or it's a big coincidence" answered Logan.

A silence fell on the room, all of them looking sadly at Jean.

- "I dunno for the others, but, earlier, I've heard her tell you to get her out of here and that didn't seem to surprise you, you've even seemed to find the right words…"said Ororo by speaking at Scott.

- "When I entered in the room, she's projected to me some images through our bond, but she hadn't used it for communication; I've understood she was living a real awaken nightmare" explained Scott "The vision of this bastard had so much terrorized her that she had the feeling to have returned in her cell where she had been locked for six weeks ; that's why you couldn't have approached her, even less than usually, she wasn't seeing you as you were"

- "And ya, she has immediately recognized ya" said Logan "It's great that she feels again in security with ya, I dunno how we'd do it otherwise"

Scott silently nodded, keeping on stroking Jean's hair without even noticing it.

- « Does…does she speak with you a lot through your bond ? » asked Kitty.

Cyclops shook his head.

- "No, very few, only the strict necessary, nothing more"

Nobody else asked him anything anymore.

* * *

During the following week, the Professor Xavier had to begin to remove the mental-shields holding back Jean's powers because of the strong headaches she was starting to suffer and of the faints which could also be linked to it even if they only happened in moment of intense stress. In Charles'opinion, her powers were now far too developed to stay blocked like that without consequences ; having said that, he trusted Jean and knew she would manage their return he will organize in a progressive way.

Coming back from school around 2 p.m. thanks to the unplanned absence of professors, Scott didn't find Jean in her room and looked for her in the Institute. He tried to call her through their bond, but she didn't answer, so he used it to know if he was coming closer or not of the place where she was. It was by passing in front of one of the common-bathroom, from where there were coming noises, that he felt the strongest her presence.

He pushed the door which had stayed ajar and saw Jean, leaned on one pan of toilets, throwing up.

- "It's me Jean, ok ?" he warned her in order not to panic her when he passed his arm around her waist for sustaining her.

He felt something of humid and lukewarm but didn't linger on it. It was some minutes later, when she had finished and had cleaned her mouth with a rag and that he turned her to him, that he noticed that his arm was covered with blood.

- "What the…?"

He immediately saw the important red patch covering the front of her tee-shirt. He began to roll up it –she tensed up, but he quietened her down– and could see that she had deeply slashed herself several times on the abdomen. In a glance around the room, he noticed the knife and the red stains on the ground which he hadn't seen by entering. Only some instants had melt between the moment he had discovered the blood and the one where Jean felt faint and leaned against him.

- "Oh it's not true" he breathed by taking off his jacket which he placed against the wounds as a compress before taking her in his arms "I'll bring you to the infirmary"

He quickened his pace and leaded toward the elevator.

- "Why did you do that Jean ?" he asked her, looking down at her, she was silently crying, her eyelids half shut..

It was through their bond that she answered as they were entering in the elevator:

_…I…I still smell their odours…I still feel their horrible hands leaning on me…I still see their glances…I still hear them panting, laughing, and telling me these things…I still hear their groans…I still feel the gust of…of…_ her mental voice trembled and broke, while Scott's heart was wringing _…they've dirtied me…they've filled me with stain…and this dirtiness doesn't…want to…to go away……I need to pull it… out……_

- "Don't stop talking to me Jean, go on" he said to her seeing that she seemed to be losing consciousness, but it was already too late "Oh, please, no…"

As soon as the elevator door's opened, he hastened at the exterior, and called Hank by passing in front of the lab, not stopping, carrying on to the infirmary.

- "What happened?" asked Beast by putting gloves as Cyclops was leaning Jean on the examination table.

- "I've found her in one of the commons-bathroom throwing up and after that I saw that she had made slashes on her abdomen, she's lost consciousness in the elevator" answered Scott in an anxious voice, stroking the adolescent's hair with one hand.

- "Well, let us see that; I'm sorry but you have to stay here Scott because, if she wakes up and that you're not here, she'll panic" he said by removing Scott's jacket before cutting the blood logged tee-shirt.

He used clean compresses to pass it on her abdomen to try to see clearer, and declared:

- "It's not really serious, she's bled a lot but the most part of the cuts won't even need stitches and won't let her more cicatrices than she already" he said in a comforting voice.

- "She'll pull through so ?"

- "Yes, of course Scott, don't worry"

Cyclops sighed and leaned a kiss on Jean's forehead, as Beast was searching what he needed to do the stitches and the bandages.

- "She told you why she has done that ?"

- "Yes, through our bond, among others things…" Scott had been shaken by the strength of the emotions she had expressed to him "she's feeling dirty, she told me that they had soiled her and that she must pull out the dirtiness."

- "Hum hum, and you said that she was throwing up when you've found her ?"

- "Yes, but she can't be…?"

- " No, no, she's not pregnant; I've made numerous blood-tests since we've found her –the most recent two weeks ago– and I would've seen it Moreover, we found her three and half a month ago, she's not pregnant" repeated Hank by threading the thread in the stitch-needle with dexterity.

- "But maybe she thinks that she is?"

- "Yes, maybe, she didn't have the same notion of time as us, she's really disturbed, this can also troubled her periods and all of this combined could have made her think that, yes …" he said "Here I rather think she was **_making herself_** throwing up and that it wasn't the first time ; this could explain why her weigh-curve hasn't increased since she's able-bodied and that it had even a tendency to lower, but I've thought this was maybe because of the fact that she was doing more of exercises and wasn't eating more in compensation" he carried on by beginning to suture the first wound after having cleaned it, keeping the other wounds under other compresses by waiting their turn.

Scott was attentively listening to him, without stopping to strike Jean's hair.

- "I think she's doing this as a way of cleansing herself as when she cleans herself compulsively. That's not the first time she's hurt herself willingly Scott, I see that she has cicatrices which weren't there the last time I've had the occasion to sound her " said Beast in a preoccupied voice; Scott knew that only Mc Coy and Storm had really seen the cicatrices marking Jean's body "You'll have to speak and to keep your eyes on her Scott, I wouldn't want her to attempt something more radical…"

* * *

To be continued

Please review, it only takes 1 minute

Wen


	10. Chapter 10

Sorry for the dela, I was overwelmed

Thants for the reviews !

Read and please review!

* * *

The adolescent gravely nodded, understanding where he was driving at.

When Hank had ended the stitches and the bandages, Scott left for some minutes to go and fetch a clean-clothe for Jean which he slipped on her delicately, briefly discovering the marks covering her skin, before sitting at her sides and taking her hand. She wasn't long to regain consciousness and slowly opened her eyes which she immediately leaned on him.

- "Hey" he said softly by passing his hand on her face "You're at the infirmary, do you remember what have brought you here ?"

She nodded.

- "You gave me such a fright Jean…" he whispered.

She said nothing, and was contended by looking at him. Then, she noticed the drip which was on her wrist and got ready to pull it off, but Scott stopped her, understanding immediately what she intended to do:

- "No Jean!" he said before asking her "Hank has understood that you must being making you throw up, was that the case?"

She looked down and nodded before focusing again on the drip. Scott put his hand above it for preventing her from pulling it out by telekinesis.

- "You've been doing it since a long time ?"

She nodded again.

- "The auto mutilations too ?"

Same answer.

- "But why haven't I noticed anything…" Scott blamed himself by momentarily looking down.

Despite the ruby-quartz sunglasses, Jean seemed to see it because she slightly squeezed his hand. He looked up at her again and said:

- "You'll have to stop doing that Jean, otherwise Hank'll have to put you seriously on a drip again ; have to regain your strength"

She shook her head, tears making their appearance again.

- "Jean, making yourself throw up and hurting yourself won't erased what they have done to you, you know ?" he asked her softly by wiping away her tears.

Through their bond, Scott had the confirmation about the hypothesis he had advanced to Beast some minutes ago and hastened to quieten her down:

- "You're not pregnant Jean, I've asked it again to Hank, and he has confirmed it to me again, he's sure, you don't have to worry about that"

…_But I haven't…since, I haven't_….

- "It's psychological Jean, Hank told me that the traumatism may have blocked your hormonal cycles" he explained to her "If I had knew sooner, I could have reassured you and maybe prevent a part of it…."

He made a slight pause before telling her:

- "Jean, you have to promise to me not to do it again, and that if at one moment or at another one, you really feel bad, you'll talk to me about it…I don't want to lose you Jean, I love you too much for that"

He leaned and placed his lips on her forehead and stayed at her sides until the end of the afternoon when she was granted to leave the infirmary (several members of the Institute had ran to here meanwhile, anguished after having seen the blood left by Jean). Scott accompanied her back to her bedroom and watched her eat and be sure that she was keeping what Ororo brought to her. Then she took the sleeping-pills which were necessaries for her to sleep and he only left the room when her breathing had taken a slow and regular rhythm.

* * *

A week later, four news mutants should arrive at the Institute. The day before had been a real action station to prepare the bedrooms, and now, the residents were all descended, waiting that Logan who had gone to the airport with the X-Van to go and fetch them, came back with them.

Jean was keeping herself apart and had settle herself on one of the sofas of the living-room, her knees tucked to her chest which ones she had surrounded with her arms, always keeping a position of self-protection when she was staying isolated. Like usually, despite temperatures more than mild, the young mutant was rivalling with Rogue in the clothing topic, since her return she was only wearing clothes covering her the most possible.

Scott had well tried to make her come to welcome the others with them, but she hadn't gave-up and it was out of question to force her. Even if he could keep his eyes on her, it was paining him to leave her alone in the room, but –as the X-Men's leader– he had the duty to be at the arriving of the news and nobody could replace him near his girlfriend.

When the four young arrived, wearing a few reassured look, the Professor Xavier welcomed them as he knew so well do it and made the presentations:

- "Bobby, Jubilee, Rahne and Jamie, you already know Logan, but here are Ororo, Hank, Rogue, Kitty, Kurt, Evan, Tabitha, Amara, Scott, and over there it's Jean, they are my first two students"

Ororo declared:

- "In order to further meet each other and take advantage of this superb weather, we've thought about making a picnic near the pool, so I let to Logan the care to show you your bedrooms where you can change yourselves, and rendezvous here in about ten minutes" she smiled.

The four new-recruits nodded and followed Logan upstairs. Scott entered in the living-room, sat near Jean, and put his arm around her, she leaned her head on his shoulder, staying the glance lost into space.

- "You'll see, they seem kind" he told her in a soft voice "It'll be all right, don't worry"

He knew that not only were the new recruits not making her feel comfortable, but that she was also anguished at the idea to go outside for the first time since five and a half months.

- "This'll be good for you Jean, Ororo is right, there is a superb weather" he added by projecting to her comfort and love through their bond.

She sighed and shut her eyes, letting herself being seized by these emotions really more quietening than the ones which were perpetually haunting her.

Ten minutes later the new-recruits were back and all of them went out with the others in the park toward the pool. In order to make Jean feel comfortable, Scott waited for them to be the last ones to make her stand up, and they leaded together at their following.

On the doorstep the adolescent closed her eyes.

- "Too much light ?" he said.

She nodded, a hand on her face. Scott guided her and she blinding gave in, opening her eyes again only some minutes later.

They rejoined the group which had already spread several blankets on the ground and began to settle food on it, using Kurt's teleportations for some things. Scott chose a place slightly in the background by staying on the blankets, leaning on the trunk of a tree which was offering its partial shadow. Jean settled at his sides like at her custom, keeping an eye on the new-ones, blaming herself inwardly to mistrust who were only young adolescents. Once all the students were gathered around the 'table', the picnic really began:

- "Jean, do you want, like, to taste my composed salad ?" asked Shadowcat by opening proudly a box for showing its content.

- "Kitty, we've to encourage her to eat, not to put her off it forever" made notice Evan sarcastically.

- "Ah, this is, like, really funny" mocked Kitty "picture yourself that I have, like, applied myself this time, your aunt has even assisted me"

- "Ah think she'd rather like a sandwich" said Rogue before giving one to Scott who had advanced himself to take it.

- "Nobody wants my salad so ?"

- "Er…that's to say that…"began Kurt.

- "A doctor prescribed me a regime without cellulose" said Tabitha when Shadowcat turned herself toward her.

Ororo, knowing there wasn't too much danger this time, tried it herself:

- "Well, give me some of it, this'll show them that you've done progress"

During the picnic, the conversations went at a good pace, the ambiance eased and the lunch was quickly over.

- "Well kids, you'd go stroll around the park for digestin' before swimmin' " said Logan with his usual grumbling.

The news ones nodded and Kitty, Kurt and Amara went with them. Once they were at a good twenty meters of the group, Jubilee asked the question which was working up on her since already sometimes:

- "Tell me, the redhead –Jean, it's that ?– the Professor told us that she and Scott are his two first students, but however she seemed really withdrawn on herself, sad and timid..."

It's Amara who answered:

- "She hasn't always been like that, before she was our role model, the one to whom we go ask for help, but now she's the most fragile of us…" she said before giving the reason of this change "Five and a half months ago, she was kidnapped by an anti-mutants group which one we were ignoring the existence…"

- "We've found her, like, four months ago," carried on Kitty "During six weeks, the members of this organization had, like, beaten, tortured and assaulted her…"

- "Oh my God" said Rahne.

- "Since, she has never been the same. She has replaced her trust in Scott with who she has always shared a special link –and moreover they were a couple before she was kidnapped– but us, we still can't approach her, she's afraid of us" resumed Amara.

- "That explains why she seems so reserved…" said Jubilee.

- "I think the Professor Xavier would have, like, talked to you about that, but not as far as she was in the surrounding, for not sacking her" declared Kitty.

- "And this group…" began Jamie, few reassured.

- "The professors are keeping an eye on them and the security is strengthened, that all we know" answered Kurt before changing the conversation: "But why not rather speaking about you…?"

* * *

One hour later, everybody was in the pool. Scott and Jean had stayed where they were, keeping a good view on the festivities.

- "You don't want to go in ?" asked softly Scott at Jean by referring to the pool.

She shook her head, leaned on his chest.

- "Even by resting dressed ?"

Same answer.

- "You want to stay in my arms ?"

This time she nodded, Scott smiled. He didn't insist, let her settle herself comfortably, enjoying the simple fact to feel her against him, to protect her. He knew she had taken pills to soothe her physical pain which was rather intense at some point of time. The fractures were healed but the pain was still there. Hank could do nothing except giving her sedatives which would only put her to sleep. In his opinion, the pain risked to last all her life, her body had been tortured and this was the aftermath. Scott didn't like to see her suffering, even if she didn't seem to be bothered by the pain, he could feel them through their bond and they were quite agonising at times. He reported his attention toward the swimming-pool where a net had just been placed. A match of volley soon began to be umpired by Logan who asked Scott's opinion now and then given that he hadn't the same angle of view than him

After forty minutes of play, all were dead beat and were drying themselves in the sun, on their towels which they had spread on the grass or on the blankets which had been used as tables for the picnic.

A relative calm was hovering until Jean, who had fallen asleep in Scott's arms, began to moan in her pained sleep before brusquely waking up with a start. Not knowing on the moment where she was and with who, she tensed up and tried to set free herself, but Scott stopped her and talked immediately to her:

- "Ssshhhh it's me Jean, it's me"

Her eyes had misted over with tears, she curled up against him by putting her arms around him, quivering.

- "Shhhh it'll be all right sweetie, it was only a nightmare, it'll be all right…" he murmured to her by slightly rocking her, an arm around her waist, a hand stroking her hair. "Here, that is, calm down, calm down…."

When she seemed to quieten down, Logan declared:

- "Good reflexes Cyke, ya haven't released her despite the surprise, well done"

- "If I didn't hold her back, she could hurt herself by panicking or unwillingly the others with her powers" answered Scott before leaning a kiss on Jean forehead, murmuring others comforting words to her.

After a while, Jean having calmed down and Scott having trouble to bear the deep glances, although companionate, that the new-recruits were leaning on the adolescent, he stood up with her and purposed to her to go and make a turn to take their mind off things, which she accepted relatively easily.

Once the two young adults were away, the Professor spoke to the new-recruits –suspecting that they were yet aware– to tell them what they have to avoid saying or doing in front of Jean and who they must call in case of a problem, in order that the cohabitation was the best possible.

* * *

As usual, Scott woke up early despite the fact that he was in week-end, and went up to Jean's bedroom. Usually, since the arrival of the new recruits some days before, she waited for him, because she couldn't manage to go down alone. But this time, she was still sleeping. Scott, closed softly the door and went to the kitchen where the professors were already here.

But Jean's sleep didn't stay peaceful, ten minutes later, she was beginning to moan and to move, flashes coming back to her mind, flashes of tortures but other ones even more dirty cheap…

* * *

To be continued

Please review, it only takes 1 minute

Wen


	11. Chapter 11

Thants for the reviews !

**amazing**** redd phoenix :** you'll hate me later lol

Read and please review!

* * *

But Jean's sleep didn't stay peaceful, ten minutes later, she was beginning to moan and to move, flashes coming back to her mind, flashes of tortures but other ones even more dirty cheap…

……_Well, come here you !...We're gonna play together, little slut… Shut up and keep still bitch!...If you bite me again, I break your fingers! _……

_Her sleep was becoming more and more agitated, dispersing her sheets. Thanks to their psychic bond, Scott felt it from where he was and began to come up._

_……You'll see, you're screaming, but you'll like it …….will you uncrossed your legs bullshit!... …_

It was by feeling again this tearing pain, she had endured the first time, that Jean woke up with a howl, panting, sitting on her bed. She was just beginning to sob when Scott came in a little too brutally than he should have, which made her violently startle. But as soon as she had gathered her mind, she held her hands to him, crying. Scott came closer and sat on the bed, she threw herself in his arms.

- "It was a nightmare Jean, just a nightmare" he said softly to her by stroking her hair.

She shook her head, curled up in his neck, crying even more, panting.

- "I know" he breathed by rocking her "It's over know, you won't risk anything anymore here, you're secure ; easy now, breath"

Seeing she was dangerously hyperventilating, he softly took one of her hands and placed it on his chest where she could feel his heartbeat.

- "Breath Jean, try to copy my own one, everything's all right now, settle down sweetie, it's over, everything's ok…"

She began to settle down little by little.

- "Here is, that's good, breathe"

He relaxed his hold slowly, and wiped always her tears with his fingers before asking her:

- "Do you want your medicine?"

She nodded slowly, still under the shock.

The anxiolytics were yet prepared on her bedside. When Scott held her the glass of water she missed to spill it as her hands were shacking ; he put his own on hers for reaffirming her grip, and helped her to swallow her pills before she laid down, crossing her ankles like at her custom, keeping his hand in hers.

- "I'll stay here with you a while, then we'll go down, ok ?" he said softly, by stroking her hair in a peaceful way.

She nodded, still shacking after this nightmare between others ones.

* * *

Two weeks later, in this end of afternoon, one and a half week after the new-recruits' arriving, the atmosphere was rather excited and this because of a birthday : as a matter of fact, today Evan was 16 years old and for the occasion his parents and some friends had came from New-York for participating to the festivities.

Ororo had had a long discussion with her sister for explaining to her the reasons of Jean's state:

- "The poor one, I remember the adolescent shinning and full of life she was when she came with you and Scott for talking about Evan…"

- "We all remember that, but it'll only remain a recall. Even if she makes progress a little each week, internally she'll remain traumatised by the whole incident" answered the weather witch, sighing.

Not far away, Storm's brother-in-law was talking with Scott in the presence of Hank:

- "How were you seeing your future before this tragedy?" asked Evan's father.

- "It could seem fanciful seeing our age…" answered Scott "…but we knew that our relationship was serious and would still evolve. I was yet thinking about asking her hand one day or another one and to build a family with her…"

- "It wasn't fanciful for us Scott, it was obvious" answered Hank.

- "Oh, this was a reflection of your maturity" approved the man "And now?"

- "I still love her more than anything else in the world and, even if it'll take really a longer time than foreseen, even if I can only have her presence, my words will stay the same, it's with her that I want to live" he answered.

Jean, on her side, tired by the pills she had taken for soothing a strong crisis of pains, had leaned herself on one of the sofas of the big-room where had been organized the party, the most isolated one. But despite that she couldn't close her eyes, to lower her watchfulness the least laugh slightly harsh, bang of a door, step or voice coming too much closer was making her start. Having noticed it, Scott left the conversation he was having with Evan's father and Hank and went to join her.

- "Jean ?" he said for announcing himself.

She looked up at him.

- "Well, make me some space" he told her gently.

She moved herself a little and he settled on the sofa, half-sat thanks to the cushions, before taking her in his arms, softly, for not hurting her yet sensible body:

- "You won't achieve to fall asleep as far as long as you don't feel secure"

…_But you…the party…?_ she sent to him through their bond.

- "Don't worry about that, my legs were beginning to ache me" he smiled "And I don't like to see you ill at ease, so I prefer taking care of you"

…_Thank_…

- "Anytime sweetie"

He kissed her on the forehead as she had already closed her eyes. The next shout of the students made her curl up a little closer against him, but then she didn't react to them anymore, she knew he would protect her and this feeling of security helped her to quickly fall asleep even if this slumber would be for a short time.

Some twenty minutes later, the Professor Xavier was coming near them:

- "You are all right Scott?"

- "Uh huh" he answered.

- "She was nervous"

- "Yes, she still can't achieve to relax herself when there are people around her and overall hen some of them are more or less strangers for her"

- "And overall if you are not near her" added Charles.

- "Yes"

- "Since the beginning we know that she will need a lot of time" resumed the powerful telepath, stopping himself from taking advantage of Jean'sleep for putting his and on hers, he knew she would immediately feel it "I know she is having violent nightmares in this time…"

- "If only it was only nightmares…most of them are recalls, since her return" replied Scott "Despite Doctor Mc Coy' sleeping-pills and anxiolytics, there isn't a night I don't have to go to wake her up; **_They_**'re haunting her"

- "Yes, I think as much; unfortunately we can't erase what has happened…Even if I wanted to, I couldn't modify her memory, she is a telepath… and we have the gift, or here, the curse to never forget anything, everything is engraved into our spirits" made notice the Professor by leaning a compassionating glance on Jean; yes, even if he could, it wouldn't really help her, at least not in a long-range. "This week, I was thinking to start her on a sort of therapy, in your presence of course, given that she won't do it if she finds herself alone with me for the moment"

Scott approved this idea, letting Jean carrying alone the events of her six weeks calvary wasn't possible, she had to speak about that, or at least to be helped to face this interior-suffering.

- "Yes, that's a good idea, even if it won't be easy, we must not await her to communicate"

The Professor nodded, he was well conscious of that, but he wanted to do something for Jean.

- "I know" he was contented to say, putting his glance on the sleeping face of the young mutant ; even her sleep didn't seem to be peaceful, she wasn't wearing anymore the innocence look she used to before. **_Before, _**he couldn't even put a name on what she had endured. Everything had changed now, there was the Jean of before the kidnapping, and the one of after, the one of today, the one who had to live with this traumatism.

* * *

(One week had melt away since Evan's birthday)

_She was again in this cell, the door had just been opened and two the guards came toward her, passing their tongues on their teeth then on their lips, before beginning to untie their belts. Jean felt her body tensing up, she wanted to move back the most possible, but she was feeling so much pain everywhere that it was as if she was in slow motion; and the men, the men were laughing, there were laughing because of the terror in her eyes…the first one went to lie on her, and the second one……she was feeling pain, she wanted to howl, but no one sound was coming out…_

Jean woke up with a start; she was in her bedroom, it was only a nightmare, even inspired by her recalls, it was still only a nightmare. Quivering, tears in her eyes, Jean got up and went to pass some water on her face and her arms for chasing away the sweat which had made its appearance. Still shaken, she returned in her bed, huddling herself against the wall, curled on herself. Usually, when she woke up because of a nightmare, Scott was here and stayed near her until she fell back into sleep, his presence, his scent, his contact reassured her; here, nothing to do, she wasn't managing to quieten herself down and again less to re-fall asleep.

She stood up again, slipped on her slippers and got out of her bedroom. Silently, she went in the corridor and opened as much discretely a door; but it was without counting on Scott's hearing which had over-developed itself when he had had to stay without the sight some years ago:

- "Jean ?" he said by seeing the young mutant slightly quivering shape's, wearing a pyjama covering herself at the maximum as it was the case since her return.

Closing the door by telekinesis, the adolescent came to the bed and got under the blankets before curling in Scott's arms.

- "You've made another nightmare?" he asked by running his fingers through her hair.

Jean nodded with a move of her head.

- "And you didn't manage to fall back asleep"

She nodded again.

- "You can stay here if you want"

- "…Th…Than…ks…" she articulated with difficulty.

After an instant of surprise, Scott' smile shinned in the darkness lightened by the moon; Jean had just spoken, he couldn't believe it (Of course he had heard her voice when she was panicked, but here it was different), she had just pronounced her first word in normal circumstances since her disappearance.

- "Anytime Jean, I'd do anything for you" he said softly to her " And if I could return in the past I'd do it, whatever is the price to pay"

He leaned a kiss on her forehead.

- "I love you Jean, I don't think that I'll never tell it to you enough"

What did the adolescent did next, she did it without thinking, only following her heart. She slightly drew herself up and kissed Scott on the cheek, at the edge of his lips like if she had deviated at the last minute; a simple little 'peck' like could say some ones, but it was Jean's first manifestation of affection since her kidnapping. She was surprised not to feel uncomfortable after that, no, Scott was far to be like the others men, those who…those who had hurt her; no, she trusted him and she wanted to prove to him that she was still loving him even if she wasn't showing it anymore.

- "I know it Jean, I feel it through our bond" he said before adding for not under-estimating her motion "But I admit that I was missing the contact of your lips"

…_Scott, I_… began Jean through their bond, a real kiss was beyond her capacities and this even though all of **them** were far away from kissing her –and overall not with the softness and the tenderness of Scott's kisses as she remember them.

- "I know" he said again, he knew her so much, "I'll wait for the time needed and if this would never happen, it doesn't matter, as long as I can keep you near me"

If she had been still able of it, Jean felt that she could have smiled, but she didn't know how to do it anymore and she'd need time to learn this simple motion again.

…_Thanks, thanks for being here_… she said as two tears were running on her cheeks.

- "You don't speak anymore?" asked Scott by raising his eyebrows, passing his hand on her face for wiping away the tears.

…_It's hard_…

- "I don't doubt it Jean, you know that when we met I was rather dumb, I was almost never opening my mouth, but you pulled me out of my silence and I've learned one thing: that the more difficult was to pronounce the first word, for the others it was easier overall if it's not too long after the first one." He said softly to her before closing the conversation "Well, we should sleep now, it's past 3 a.m."

Jean didn't oppose to it, she had yet shut her eyes, all her fears she had felt alone had almost all vanished.

- "Good night sweetie"

- "…Ni…gth…"

He smiled again and kissed her in the hair, slightly inhaling her scent.

* * *

The following day, having class, Scott had reluctantly to envisage to free himself of Jean's embrace. He didn't achieve to do it without waking her, she was far too much vigilante at the contacts for that and startled violent like usually.

- "Hey, it's okay Jean, it's only me, do you remember? you came to join me here last night" he said softly to her.

She nodded and relaxed herself.

- "Sleep well?" he asked to her.

Same answer.

- "I can't stay, I have class today, you know?" he told her "I've to go to prepare myself, try to fall asleep again, ok?"

After having assured himself that Jean was alright, he got up and went to the bathroom, his bedroom, Jean's, and the professors'ones having a private one. When he went out some ten minutes later, he saw that Jean had gotten up, this didn't surprise him and he didn't do any allusion to that.

- "I'll go to have a breakfast, do you come with me ?"

She shook her head, she had to take a shower, she couldn't do without it, and it wouldn't be the only one of the day. Scott knew it and immediately understood that she was following him out of his bedroom only to rejoin her own.

- "I'll come to see you before leaving ok ?" he told her as they were in front of her door.

He kissed her on the forehead and moved away toward the kitchen.

Jean entered in her room and went to her bathroom. Usually, when she was taking a shower since her kidnapping, she did it by avoiding looking at her body, even if she had to close her eyes for it, but this time, she couldn't help it. To see all these marks and cicatrices covering her skin, each one having its story, each one coming with a recall, put a lump in her throat. (By the cigarettes burn she could almost count the number of time she had been raped. Almost? yes, they hadn't all marked her physically like that…).However hard she rubbed it, it didn't go away and never will. The slashes all over her body, the burns…only the branding had disappeared…she remembered the horrible pain and the smell of rotten flesh…

Jean ended her shower with the feeling to be still as much dirty than before; in any case, even if she was able to turn herself like a flannel for cleaning herself by the interior, she would keep this sensation. She slipped on her panties and then in a bath robe which she tied around her waist and, whereas until now she had achieved to avoid crossing her reflection in a mirror, she found herself confronted to it. Who was this pale adolescent with rings under her eyes and an empty gaze who was looking back at her? She didn't bear the image it was sending back to her, this associated to the cicatrices covering her body was too much for her, she felt the tears coming to her eyes and the sobs coming. She started to hyper-ventilate, then to shack and, without even knowing what she was doing, she broke the mirror, freeing symbolically her ill-being; a wave of telekinesis sank the walls, shattered the partition of glass used as a shower curtain and threw on the pit all the objects being in the room, while she collapsed on the ground by bursting into tears.

Scott was going through the corridor toward the bedrooms, when he felt a bruque surge of ill-being coming from his bond with Jean before sensing a shake and hearing the sound of broken-glass. Without waiting, he ran to her door and knocked but, obtaining no answer and his hearing discerning the sound of weeps, he entered in the room −which door was disembowelled− and hastened in the bathroom where he found his girlfriend, curled up in a corner, shaken by sobs and nervous starts.

- "Jean…" he said by coming closer to her, walking by the same occasion on the bits of glass and tiling which broke a little more under his soles of shoes.

The room was half destroyed, it was almost like the day of her power surge, although the ceiling and the walls were still standing. The adolescent was such in tears that she hadn't even heard him enter. Not wanting to risk a defence-reaction from her implying again her telekinesis, he called her again:

- "Jean…"

This time she seemed to have heard him but didn't stop crying. He kneeled at her sides and took her in his arms, she tightened the embrace, sobbing, shedding all the tears of her body. Scott knew that this had to happen, it was necessary she hadn't yet really cracked up, the only tears she had shed had all been provoked by fear and nightmares, here it was different.

- "Cry Jean, you need it…" he murmured to her by rocking her. "Things will turn up all right one day, I'll always stay at your sides"

Logan, having like the students felt the shock, made his appearance at which was remaining of the bathroom entry, but Scott made him implicitly understand that they had to stay alone and Wolverine complied; he knew that he couldn't do anything, even if seeing his little Jeannie like it was breaking his heart.

At the bedroom entrance, some young mutants were justly waiting for him to go out for learning more about the situation:

- "So ? What's up?" asked Amara.

- "Jean's in tears, Scott's with her" answered Logan in a grumbling voice.

- "And the shake, what was it?" demanded Jubilee.

- "She might've lost control of her power for some seconds, the bathroom has suffered from it"

- "Oh…" said Kurt by seeing were he was driving at.

- "Well, don't stay here ya'll be late for school" ended Logan by egging them to disperse.

He cast a last glance behind him and went away at his turn.

Inside, as Jean' cries weren't weakening, images appeared in Scott's mind, not whole scenes, but rather numerous sequences and sensations unconsciously sent through their bond at such a rhythm that he only could decrypt a part, but it was enough explicit. In front of such atrocities and suffering, even him couldn't restrain his tears and held Jean a little stronger against him, whose one was still trembling and had almost difficulties to breath so much her sobs were closer.

* * *

When after half an hour, exhausted, the adolescent began to calm down, Scott made her stand up and carried her out of the bathroom in order she not got hurt by walking bare-foot on the glass. He leaned her on her bed, quickly sounded her fists which had only some superficial cuts, and sat near her.

…_Don't…Lea…ve…me…_ she begged him.

- "I stay with you, don't worry" he answered to her.

He leaned against the wall, his legs on the mattress, recovering how he could from what he had just seen; Jean had kept her hand in his and was beginning to fall asleep, curled-up on herself, her face against his skin.

Some twenty minutes later, he was pulled out of his thoughts by the Professor Xavier's voice:

- "It must have been hard from what I see"

Scott slightly startled; Jean didn't moved she had fallen asleep.

- "Professor? I didn't hear you come in"

* * *

To be continued

Please review, it only takes 1 minute

Wen


	12. Chapter 12

Thants for the reviews !

* * *

Charles had noticed the still recent stains of tears which had escaped from the cover of Cyclops' shades

- "She has projected so much terrible images through our bond" said Scott in a marked voice "She has all this inside of herself, whereas I couldn't bear the half of it…"

- "And however, this is what you do Scott" made notice the Professor Xavier in a calmed voice.

- "I know…But that's because I'd do anything for her, I'd give my life for her"

The Professor slightly smiled in front of the maturity of his first student.

- "But she would not let you do it, she needs you" he said before going on with seriousness, "I know it's terrible. When I had to read her thoughts at her arrival, It took days to recover from it; I had only got a general view of her mind for only see the faces of her torturers but some images had appeared to me, and contrary at you I wasn't feeling her emotions, that is a own propriety belonging to this so special bond which you two share"

Scott nodded and stayed silent some instants before saying:

- "I want to stay with her today"

- "I know it Scott, I have already announced your absence to the high-school, for today and also for tomorrow, it is the end of the school year by the way" answered Charles.

- "Thank you"

- "You don't have to thank me Scott, you show an unlimited devotion for Jean when she needs it the most, I'm proud of you"

- "I do it because I love her" he answered without any hesitation.

* * *

The two months followed were extremely hard. The fright than the other were provoking on Jean had increased tenfold, overall toward the men; each word was liable of making her literally burst in tears, shaken by waves of horrible recalls, her compulsive washing had also increased. She was weakest than ever and Scott didn't leave her anymore more than two minutes by fright that she might attempt on her days.

Cyclops's bedroom was fitted up because, since Jean had passed the night with him, she didn't sleep in her own anymore, preferring his reassuring presence which was allowing to make little by little rare her nightmares, which ones had become more violent too. Scott wasn't complaining about this new custom, he liked to feel her against him, to know her in security, to be sure that no one would be able to snatch her from him.

In September, he had to return at School; Jean had had troubles to accustom herself to his absences again. When Scott was in class, the professors were keeping an eye on her even if they couldn't approach her, when she was going in her room or somewhere else, despite his principles, Charles was watching for her by telepathy. And this day he congratulated himself on it…

_Everybody to the infirmary! Jean is attempting to kill herself, hurry! sent the powerful mutant by telepathy in an anguished voice at the professors._

Jean, was swallowing whole handfuls of pills, her back turned on the door, when the others arrived, out of breath.

- "Jean! no stop!"

She startled violently by turning herself, realising the box of pills she was holding in her hands, which one went to join the two others ones on the ground. Logan, Hank and Ororo were in the room and were trying to approach her slowly, but she, she was going back, quivering.

- "Jean, I have to take care of you it's not too late, let me take care of you" said Hank in a voice which wanted to be calm.

But the young mutant wasn't stopping to go back; arrived against the wall and couldn't go back anymore, she felt like in a trap and kept them from advancing with her telekinesis.

- "Jean, I beg you" said Storm and Wolverine in a same voice.

The telepath's eyes were expressing terror and sadness. Suddenly, her nerves too much distressed, she collapsed on the ground. The three X-Men ran to her, Hank took her pulse before carrying her to the examination table.

- "Will she…" couldn't even end Storm.

- "No, she has just taken them, and I know what she has taken, I'll take care of her" answered Hank.

When Scott came back from the high school, some twenty minutes later, the Professor, Hank and Logan were waiting for him with a serious look.

- "Where is Jean?" was Cyclops' first question.

- "At the med-bay" answered Charles before telling him without convolutions "She tried to kill herself by taking pills, but we have intervened in time"

Scott ran to the infirmary. Ororo was here, in the background, just watching for Jean not try anything anymore now that she had regained consciousness.

- "Jean…"

…_it's too hard, I can't live with that_… she told him through their bond in a broken voice as he arrived near her and was taking her hand by kissing her on the forehead.

Tears were running through his cheeks, she was also silently crying.

- "I'm here Jean, I'll help you" he told her "But don't leave me, I beg you Jean. If they had told me you were dead, I wouldn't have survived to that; Jean, I need you" he carried on, deeply shaken.

He took her hand to his mouth and kissed it during a long time, his tears joining the young mutant' skin.

- "Don't do it again, I beg you" he said "I'll stay with you, I won't let you alone anymore, but I beg you, don't leave me"

Hank entered in the room by taking care to be noticed by Jean for not surprising her.

- "You have to let her rest now, Scott"

…_don't leave, stay with me_… sent the young mutant at Cyclops

- "She wants me to stay" he transmitted at Beast.

Mc Coy cast a glance to the drip to which one Jean was linked and answered:

- "Ok, but let her sleep, she has to recover"

Scott nodded as Hank was leaving, he would wait for speaking more with Jean.

* * *

During the following month, and despite the constant vigilance of the others and Scott's more than strengthened support, Jean made unfortunately other attempts of suicide. Then, in November she seemed to settle down, but it was only an appearance….

At the middle of the month Scott had just come back from school and, as usually, he went to his room where he was sure to find Jean, but she wasn't there and their bond was blocked. Worried, he searched for the first person he would see and it was Ororo:

- "Where's Jean?"

- "In you bedroom, I've checked less than 10 minutes ago" she answered.

- "She's not there and she has blocked our bond" said Scott in an anxious voice.

- "Maybe she only wants to be alone, that's all. We'll find her"

Both of them searched through the Institute with Hank and Logan who they had met on the way. The Professor being absent for the week-end, students joined them. Jean hadn't tried anything since 2 weeks, but what Hank found scared them:

- "She came to the infirmary"

- "You had put the drugs under lock and key?" asked Ororo.

- "Yes of course, but that hasn't stopped her, she had demolished the padlock with her telekinesis"

- "What has she taken?" asked Logan.

- "Whatever!" said Scott "What we know is that she has taken drugs and that she's somewhere in danger!"

Kitty, Rogue and Bobby arrived:

- "She's nowhere inside"

- "So we have to search outside and to part for covering the more ground we can" said Scott.

* * *

It was really cold, but there wasn't snow covering the ground which could have helped them to find her by following the traces…well if she hadn't levitated herself. Mutants' calls were resonating in the park, but as Jean wasn't speaking they hadn't a lot of chances to get an answer.

Scott had gone toward the lake when he found an empty box of barbiturates.

- "Jean!" he called by looking around him, extremely worried.

No answer. He caught a glance of another box some twenty meters away, at 30 meters from the dock, and that's then he saw her: Her body was floating at the surface, on her abdomen, at some ten meters from the edge, her red-hair surrounding her.

- "NO!" screamed Scott by running toward the water.

The adrenaline helping, he didn't feel the iced water stabbing him like thousand needles, almost preventing him to breathe, and swam toward Jean as fast as he could.

- "JEAN!" he screamed in horror as he reached out for her.

He held her in his arms and it didn't take long for him to realise she wasn't breathing. There was a dreadful feeling inside of him as he brought her back toward the bank and laid her limp body on the ground. Mouth to mouth resuscitation failed to revive her.

- "Help!" he howled by sending an optic blast above him for being localized easily.

For the time, he was alone. He took Jean's pulse and realised she hadn't had one anymore, she was hard, cold and without life.

- "No! Jean, I beg you!"

He started the artificial breathing and cardiac massages again. The adolescent's skin had taken a bluish shade such the water was iced, but Scott, himself soaked, wasn't noticing the cold and was untiringly keeping his efforts to revive her

Some minutes later, Hank and Logan arrived, followed by Ororo and the students.

- "Oh God!"

- "Barbiturates…drowning…she doesn't breathe anymore…has no pulse…" said Scott between two cardiac massages and ventilations.

- "We have to bring her to the infirmary urgently!"

It was Scott who took her in his arms and everyone rushed inside. The students were asked to stay out of the med-bay, only Scott was present. Hank checked Jean's temperature:

- "82.4°f, that's the limit for the electroshocks but we have no choice. Ororo you undress her, Logan you ventilate her, I'll suck out the water she has swallowed and prepare the pallets, Scott you go change yourself you're completely frozen" said Hank by ending to place her under monitoring and electroencephalogram, the flat-line sound made itself heard.

- "I'll stay" he answered.

- "Scott"

- "It's not debatable!"

He had taken one of Jean's hand, trying to warm it between his own, talking to her for encouraging her.

Quickly, Storm had removed Jean's soaked clothes, letting on her only her underwear Despite the colour of her skin, the numerous scars appeared clearly for the first time at Logan and Scott's eyes, marks witnessing the cruelty she had endured. She was livid, rigid …as dead. Hank inserted a probe for emptying her lungs of the most water possible in order that Wolverine could ventilate her more efficiently and for pushing away the infectious risk.

- "Storm, go warm up at 98.6°f several normal saline solution" he asked as she immediately went to take care of it.

Then he placed two protection patches on Jean's skin in a same move before charging the pallets and asking them to back up.

- "Only 50 joules?" asked Logan.

- "She's soaked, the water has decreased her resistance to electricity, I can only increase progressively; moreover, warming her brutally would be extremely dangerous" explained Hank quickly.

Jean's body lifted itself slightly under the shock, but the line only marked itself before becoming flat again.

- "Jean, I beg you, don't leave me" pleaded Scott.

- "We start again, move back!" warned Hank before making another electroshock.

This hadn't had more effect than the previous one. Beast strived to wait more than the normal interval between each electroshock, as he would have done with a cardiac massage in such situation.

- "Charged, beware!"

Nothing.

- "Charged, beware!"

But still nothing and the time was running out. Five minutes, then ten, twenty and…

- "What are you doing?" asked Scott seeing that Beast was putting back the pallets at their place, the dejected look, and that Logan was about to cover up Jean's face with the blanket, tears running down his cheeks.

- "I'm sorry Scott, it's making 30 minutes…"

- "Carry on!"

- "It's over Scott, she's dead, it'd be useless" articulated Logan "She's dead…"

* * *

To be continued

Please review, it only takes 1 minute

Wen


	13. Chapter 13

Thants for the reviews !

Hihihihi you liked the cliff-hanger lol

* * *

- "It's over Scott, she's dead, it'd be useless" articulated Logan "She's dead…"

- "No!"

Determined not to stay without doing anything, Scott took the matter into his hands, going to fetch the pallets by himself.

- "Scott, it's useless to set upon it" said Ororo, who was also crying.

But he didn't listen and started again the electroshocks at the same rhythm than Hank, his eyes misted by his own tears.

- "Scott!"

Shock.

- "Jean I beg you!" he said.

- "Let him, he needs to do it" declared Hank by holding back the adults without Scott took care of it.

- "Come back Jean!"

Shock.

- "Come back I beg you, you can't die Jean! I love you, I need you, come back please Jean!"

After several electroshocks and as even Scott was beginning to give in to the unacceptable evidence, the strident alarm of the electrocardiogram died away and the flat line let place at a weak frequency more or less stable.

- "How is it possible?" asked Logan by starting again to ventilate her without thinking any longer.

- "The water…the lake was iced, 33.8°f all the more, this has slowed down her organism…." realised Hank "How could I be such an idiot? We can't declare the death as long as the body hasn't been warmed up…" he blamed himself.

Ororo had yet placed an electric blanket on the adolescent.

- "No, we need the warming tunnel _(with a ventilator which blows hot air at the end)_, we have to warm her up slowly, she's suffering from a quite serious hypothermia, her corporal temperature is around 82.4°f; no more than 35.6°f by hour or it may carry grave sequels…if they are not yet there" said Hank "Scott, go fetch it, into the reserve, upon the cupboard, at the back, on the right" he indicated to the adolescent, but he had to repeat himself for making him react.

Beast checked Jean's vitals function and frowned.

- "Some blood pressure is back, but her cardiac rhythm is fibrillating…is the serum ready Ororo?"

- "Yes it is"

- "Put her on a drip with a little debit, we have to warm her organism before the surface of her skin"

He took the pallets again.

- "What are ya doin'? Her heart is beatin'" said Logan, perplexed.

- "But it'll stop again if we do nothing, carry on ventilating her between the shocks"

When Scott came back, Hank had just replaced the pallets and was passing a hand on his forehead for chasing the sweat away. Scott began to panic again, but he realised that he wasn't hearing the flat line sound and saw a frequency on the machine watching for Jean's heart.

- "Is that it?" he asked by showing what he had brought back to Beast.

- "Yes. Ororo?"

- "I'm on it" she said by catching the material.

- "Put the ventilator at its minimum for the moment"

The weather witch nodded, then, once done, she placed a blanket on Scott's shoulder whose teeth were beginning to chatter. Henceforth he was feeling that his reflexes were weakened, he was shaking in an uncontrollable way and his arms and legs were hurting him. During this time, Beast took the probe again for being sure that Jean hadn't had water in her lungs anymore, and injected some dopamine into her drip for doping her blood pressure.

- "Stop ventilating her" he asked to Logan before giving an explanation "we have to see if she breathes alone"

Wolverine backed up. And they watched

- "Go on Jean, breath…." they pried, but she didn't.

- "We can't wait longer, she's too weak" declared Hank .

He intubated her and started the mechanical ventilation before her breathing rhythm decreased too much.

- "And what about the barbiturates?" asked Ororo.

- "I'm not sure she took them, she's not showing the symptoms and the two combined we wouldn't have been able to reanimate her, but I'll check it." said Hank "I'll also make her pass a scan, she has missed oxygen for a long time, and even if the cellules work in slow motion at a low temperature and don't suffer a lot from it, I'd like her to go through some exams. Just in case".

- "I'll come with you" declared Scott.

- "No, you're in a state of hypothermic shock so you go and change yourself before you catch your death, you can do nothing more. As soon I'll be done, you will be able to see her again"

- "But…"

Logan gave his opinion :

- "Scott, if ya keep these clothes it's ya who'll need cares, and Hank has only two hands even if Storm can assist him" he argued, knowing than between him and Jean, the adolescent wouldn't hesitate.

And he was right; Scott nodded, went to lay a long kiss on Jean's still cold forehead, muttered some words to her and exited.

- "I'll call Chuck" said Wolverine to Hank and Ororo "Keep us informed"

He went out of the room at his turn as the two other adults were about to move Jean's bed.

* * *

Three hours later, the Professor had come back and everyone was gathered in the same room where Hank had made his diagnostic after Jean's liberation months before. The faces were grave, all of them knew what had happened. Only Scott was missing, he hadn't wanted to leave the adolescent's side.

- "She's not out of danger yet, she's weak and in a coma. She doesn't breathe by herself which leave her between life and death. Fortunately she hadn't swallowed the barbiturates, why? I dunno. Her temperature is slowly raising, she had started to shiver which is a good sign, but it's not enough" he said "Her scan didn't reveal anything, but I don't know how she'll be or when she'll come out of her coma; she could be normal, or stay in a lethargic state or whatever else, if she wakes up one day…"

- "What are her chances…I mean, like, what are her chances to survive?" asked Kitty.

- "As long as she's under mechanical ventilation, one one to twenty, no more"

- "My god…" said Jamie.

The Professor sighed heavily.

- "Jean's life hangs only by a thread, but she is alive for the moment, so you have to keep hoping. When she's more stabilized, I think you will be able to go and see her, but for the moment Scott is the only one authorized" he said "It is too soon for me to attempt whatever by telepathy, but if she ends by no needing mechanical ventilation anymore, I would try to contact her, now it would be too dangerous"

Students were authorized to return to their activity and each of them went on its side, the sombre look still lingered on their faces.

Hank and the Professor were the two last people in the room.

- "I thought I wouldn't save her Charles" said Hank "I've declared her dead whereas she wasn't warmed up, if Scott hadn't insisted…"

- "You were under the shock…."

- "But I've almost killed her!" Best interrupted him. "As a doctor I don't have the right to be wrong!"

- "Hank, you have to take care of young you care about, do not blame yourself my friend, the most important is that she is alive for the moment"

- "Yes, for the moment" answered Hank before going out at his turn.

* * *

The next day, Jean was still in the same state, leaned and surrounded by machines which sounds weren't leaving Scott's mind anymore, the worst was the one of the mechanical ventilation, there was something lugubrious into it. Hank wasn't trying to send the adolescent back to his room anymore, he knew it would be useless, so he as the others professors were letting him be. They couldn't force him to eat or to sleep, he would end by doing it when he would be starved or exhausted. He stayed at Jean's side day and night and was only releasing her hand when he was obliged to leave for some minutes.

Beast was catching back his sleep when Scot burst into his room.

- "What's up?"

- "She has a fever, she's burning!" he answered, worried "I dunno since when, I fall asleep, I've noticed it when I've woken up!"

- "I'll come immediately, until I arrive passes a flannel of cold water on her face"

Scott nodded and went back to the infirmary as fast as one can. He didn't know how much temperature she had but she was covered by sweat and her cardiac rhythm seemed to be disordered. He did what Hank had told him by waiting for his arrival anxiously.

This one arrived four minutes later with Storm.

- "Her cardiac rhythm is strange" said Scott as once.

- "That's biological: in normal time, the raising of temperature would augment her ventilation for alleviating to the hotness, I'll settle the mechanical ventilation."

Ororo took her temperature:

- "105.8°f " she announced in a worried voice "What's happening?"

- "I don't know yet" said Hank by passing a light in front of Jean's eyes whom he had raised the eyelids "I'll sound her, it may be the consequence of her drowning, a strong cold or a pneumonia. Until it, we have to surround her with ice and to hydrate her by IV, you're on it Ororo?"

- "Yes, no problem"

- "Well, I'll check her vitals functions and make a blood test. Scott you carry on with the water"

For almost than 2 days, Jean's fever came close to 111.2°f, the professors and some students were relaying themselves near her, only Scott was never leaving her.

It was 3 a.m, Jean had attempted to kill herself four days before.

- "We need cold water" said Scott in a tired voice "I'll go fetch it"

Ororo nodded by carrying on sponging the adolescent's forehead, Logan wouldn't be long to come and switch with her. Hank was arriving when Scott collapsed on the ground.

- "Oh god!" started Ororo by running to him.

Beast was yet at his sides, Logan appeared at his turn.

- "Slim?"

* * *

To be continued

Please review, it only takes 1 minute

Wen


	14. Chapter 14

Thants for the reviews !

Hihihihi you liked the cliff-hanger lol

* * *

- "Slim?"

- "He passed out, it's nothing" said Hank "It's the tiredness, he hasn't closed an eye more than some hours and hasn't eaten a lot for four days, it ought to happen. I'll carry another bed and place it near of Jean's one" he said by going out of the room.

- "Don't worry Ororo, he's fine" said Logan, feeling that the weather witch was on the edge "Go to rest, I take the relay"

- "Are you sure?"

- "Yes, buzz off"

She stood up, went to lay down the flannel near Jean and briefly squeezed her hand before leaving the room. As soon as Hank came back, Logan carried Scott on the bed, and went to fill up the basin of water for keeping on refreshing the adolescent as Beast was putting Scott on a drip.

- "I gave him a sedative, he'll sleep some hours, it'll do him some good and the IV too"

Logan nodded but said nothing.

* * *

Scott was beginning to wake up, he was lying down on a bed, hearing machine beeping all around him. Suddenly, he took conscious of where he was.

- "Jean!" he said by trying to stand up.

Hank came at his side and obliged him to lean back.

- "Easy Scott, she's here, her fever is beginning to lower down"

The adolescent turned his head to the right and see that she was well at reach.

- "What happened?"

- "You've over evaluated your capacities, you passed out yesterday. I gave you a sedative for making you catch up some sleep and I would like you to keep the IV in for some hour in more"

Scott nodded, his head still turned toward Jean. The sweat had disappeared but a machine was still making her breathe and she was still as white as a sheet. He caught her hand and kept it in his. The moment of crisis had passed, but two days later they had to make a decision…

* * *

The professors and Scott were gathered around Jean.

- "What'll happen if she doesn't breathe by herself?" asked Ororo.

- "I'd put her back under mechanical ventilation for trying again at the end of the week, but we couldn't let her like it forever…" Hank made understand.

Nobody answered, understanding what he was meaning.

- "Well, I switch off the machine…" he said before doing it and disconnecting the tube which was relied to the intubation.

Her lungs emptied themselves naturally but that was all.

- "Come on Jean, breathe…" begged Scott, one of her hand in his.

The cardiac frequency was slowing more and more dangerously. Each one was encouraging her but it wasn't enough.

- "It was too soon, we can't wait longer" said Hank by preparing himself to replace the tube and switch on back the machine, but that's the moment the adolescent chose to take a breath.

- "Yeah!" exclaimed Logan "Well done Jeannie!"

- "That's great Jean, carry on" said Scott by softly stroking her hand.

Beast waited ten minutes for assuring himself that she was staying stable before extubing her and putting oxygen spectacles on her. He passed his hand through the adolescent's hair to congratulate her, Charles did the same.

- "Now you have to wake up Jean" he said.

- "She's out of danger?" asked Logan.

- "She's no more under mechanical ventilation so, yeah, we can say she's out of danger for the moment" answered Hank.

- "For the moment?" noticed Scott.

- "Relapses are possible, I'll keep her under strong watching for the next 12 hours"

But she didn't relapse. Scott kept on staying at her side as he had done until now, talking to her, falling asleep the head on the edge of her bed, or leaning on the one next to this one, keeping her hand in his. Students were relaying themselves for keeping him company, but in general he preferred to stay alone with her.

* * *

The next day, Scott was softly stroking Jean's hair, passing his thumb on a slight scar of her forehead, when the Professor came with Ororo.

- "I will try to bring her back as I have done it before she arrived here" said Charles at once.

Scott nodded and gave him the space as Hank was joining them. The Professor put his hands on Jean's temples and concentrated himself before taking them off some minutes later.

- "Have you found her?" asked the adolescent.

- "Yes I have, but she has not wanted to follow me" he answered "She has created his own universe, where she hasn't been kidnapped and where we are all present, she is well into it. She hasn't rejected me, but I haven't been able to bring her back here by the strong for all that. She knows what is waiting for her if she comes back: fear, feeling of dirtiness, nightmares…"

- "So, she won't come back…" muttered Scott in a breath.

- "The mind has not all the cards, her organism can push her to wake up" argued Hank by laying a hand on his shoulder.

- "I'll try again each day Scott, I promise"

* * *

Nine days later, Scott was woken up by a sound which reproduced itself some instants later.

- "Hank!" he called.

He didn't have to explain himself because the sound started again.

- "What's happening?"

- "Her tension is increasing, it's a good sign, it can mean she's on the way of waking up"

- "It can?"

- "Yeah, it happened several times during the week, but you were sleeping and I've preferred no to talk to you about it knowing it could be only the consequences of things she was living in her coma"

But, as Beast was returning to his papers…

- "Jean? Hank, she's waking up!"

Beast came back toward the bed, and saw by himself that Scott was right.

- "Easy, we shouldn't rush her"

- "Jean, that's it, open your eyes" said Scott with softness, her hand in his.

The adolescent seemed to struggle some instants, then she half-opened her eyes. They gave her some time for acclimating herself, into silence. Scott sat on the edge of the bed and, once fully awoken, she kept her eyes into his.

- "Jean, do you know who you are, who we are and what brought you here?" asked Beast.

She seemed to search into her mind then nodded.

- "Good" said Hank before catching his lamp and coming closer to her.

But she backed away and went to curl near Scott.

- "Jean, you've spent two weeks into a coma, with one between life and death, I have to sound you"

But seeing she wouldn't change her mind, he gave the lamp to Scott knowing he was able to do it.

- "Jean, I won't approach you nor touch you, but you have to do what Scott will ask you to, it's the only condition"

The adolescent passed the lamp in front of Jean's eyes, then, as Hank asked him to, made her follow one of his finger.

- "It seems to be good. Is somewhere hurting you?" asked Beast.

Jean showed her head.

- "This is normal, if it doesn't go away I would give you something"

Scott was unconsciously stroking her hair and it was calming her.

…._I'm cold…_ she said through their bond.

- "You're cold? Do you want me to take you into my arms?" Scott asked with softness, dying for doing it.

She nodded and he glided himself into the bed, near her.

- "I'll inform the others" said Hank by leaving the room.

Scott didn't even hear him leave, he was hugging Jean against him and she was hugging him back, tears into her eyes.

- "You scared me so much Jean…When I saw you into the lake, I believed my heart had stopped beating and, when I saw that yours wasn't beating and that you wasn't breathing anymore I thought I would die…" said Scott before laying a long kiss on her forehead "I won't ask you why you've done this, I know it, but I know also that you didn't want to go out of your coma, that you had created an alternative reality where nothing had happened to you…So what have made you come back?"

…_You…_ she answered _You__ had just been kidnapped as I had been…I knew what would happen to you and I couldn't bear it…I knew that in the reality you were fine…so I've made my choice…_

- "As I would preferred than all of this happened to me instead of you" he said by kissing her again on the top of her head "I love you and I'm afraid to lose you"

Jean slowly shook her head and comfort him trough their bond.

* * *

A little later, Scott had to absent himself and it was obvious that this was panicking Jean. She settled down only at the return of the adolescent. It was logical that her behaviour wouldn't have changed at her wake up, but it seems to be more pronounced.

When she had been knocked out by sedative, the Professor gathered them in the recording room.

- "Hank?"

- "Medically speaking, she's fine, she knows who she is, she hasn't forgotten anything, she doesn't seem do have any sequel, this is a true miracle"

- "But morally?"

- "The problem of the deep traumatism is still there, overall that it came back brutally real at her awaking"

- "Scott, has she told ya why she had done that after such a time?" asked Logan.

- "For the same reasons than as the other times, to escape the suffering. Here, she came out of her coma because in her alternative reality, it's me who was kidnapped"

- "A love gesture…" muttered Ororo.

- "We'll need to find a way to protect her from herself"

- "We cannot prevent her to make her choice, even if it hurts us" said Logan.

- "She won't do it again" declared Scott, cutting the debate.

- "What?"

- "She told me it, and I believe her. She said she had realised that if she killed herself I wouldn't be here and that she would be alone, that she wouldn't bear it. Of course I haven't told her that I couldn't bear it either and that I would rejoin her"

- "There is another thing she seems not to bear anymore: that you go out of her vision" said Hank "Maybe by fear you could be kidnapped…?"

- "Yes, I have noticed it too" approved the Professor "We will have to check it out: when she will wake up, Scott, you will stay here"

- "But…"

- "Only for a few minutes, Hank And Ororo will go to the med-bay and act as before"

* * *

Sedatives were not working as it used to anymore. Jean woke up in less than half an hour after they had been administered to her. She opened her eyes only to find Scott wasn't there and began to tense up whenever she heard noises. Even if they were Hank and Ororo, Jean prevented them to advance by telekinesis a lot more than the distance she was authorizing them before.

The Professor, Logan and Scott saw it by the video surveillance.

_Scott_…

- "There is not only the fear that Scott may be kidnapped" said Logan.

- "_Jean, you know we won't hurt you_" said Ororo in the infirmary.

Jean's eyes were melting with tears.

_Scott….Scott….Scott !..._

Into the recording room, the adolescent had shivered.

- "She's calling me"

- "Wait"

_Scott !__ I beg you Scott…! _she called desperately.

- "I can't!" he said by leaving the room for rejoining the Infirmary as fast as he could.

As soon as she saw him coming into the infirmary, Jean calmed a little and the minute he was at her side, she threw herself into his arms

- "I'm sorry, the professors wanted to see at which point you need me, I'm sorry"

…_Don't leave me again…_

_You still have our bond Jean, you knew I wasn't far away_

…_That's not the same…

* * *

_

To be continued

Please review, it only takes 1 minute

Wen


	15. Chapter 15

Thants for the reviews !

**amazing redd phoenix :** And it's not over….

* * *

Into the recording room, the Professor was thinking.

- "We've our answer Chuck" said Logan "She's dependant of him, totally now"

- "Yes, if we have to make statistics the results will confirm it"

- "It won't change a lot of things, he will still be the only one who's able to approach her at less than three meters, to be able to touch and communicate with her, to trust him at the point she could fall asleep in his arms"

- "But she has become really dependant on him…I think I will call Moïra Tagart, you know, my friend of Muir Island. I will ask her if she would accept to come to install herself here in order for Jean to acclimates herself to her; and hopefully, in some weeks we can begin the therapy. The one I had begun with her wasn't enough. Moïra will know better how to set about it"

- "Good idea"

* * *

Later, in the evening, Charles went to the convalescence room where Jean had been transferred. She was sleeping against Scott.

- "How is she?"

- "Emotive, anguished, really tired"

- "She has been on death door" nodded Charles.

Scott let some instants of silence, before declaring:

- "Professor, I've taken a decision. I'll leave high school for staying near to Jean" he said by adding before he could be interrupted "Of course, I don't stop the studies for all that, I'll follow correspondence course, but I don't want to leave her anymore"

- "As you wish, Scott"

- "That's all? You're not disappointed? You don't try to convince me to carry on?"

- "Why would I do it? You have made your choice and I respect the reasons of it, moreover I know you are perfectly able to follow serious correspondence course" answered the Professor "And since Jean is always with you, this will allow her to stay in contact with the studies even if we won't push her. I will take care of the formalities, but as you have been missing school for two weeks, I think Principal Kelly will not oppose too much resistance, all the contrary…" he smiled.

- "Yes, nothing will please him more, but I don't care, I don't leave because of his pressure on the mutants but for taking care of Jean"

For near a month, Jean recovered from her suicidal attempt and her coma. When she had learned that Scott would not go back to school, she was standing between a huge feeling of relief and another of culpability, but he had comforted her.

Life was taking back its normal course at the Institute. Jean still stayed the same since her return, but at the least she was alive and Scott need not worry anymore about her possible attempts at suicide. Still, whenever she broke down, he always feared that her nerves cracked and that she couldn't resist to the temptation to stop her bad-being. Henceforth, this year, she spent Christmas and New-year with them, it was almost one year ago that she had been brought back.

* * *

An unprecedented trial happened a day of January, as Moïra McTaggart was at the Institute since the day before. A violent snowstorm fell on Bayville, Storm was at her sister's home with Evan, and the electricity was cut in the entire city. Having to gather in a common room with several fireplaces wouldn't have been an insurmountable problem if a class of Bayville hadn't come asking for refuge…

They really had to be blocked and frozen for coming at the Institute. Logan was really tempted to let them outside but it wasn't Charles' opinion. Moreover, professor Malcom who was accompanying them wasn't against the mutant and was even appreciated by the Institute members. Having said that, Wolverine warned them that the first one who would make a disagreeable remark, he would put him or her out without any problem.

A lot of people between these 15 students weren't unknown to the members of the Institute as by example Duncan and his band, Taryn and others, but they stayed calm, they were in a "mined" ground. And Logan knew what had provoked a fight between Scott and Duncan some weeks before Jean's last attempt of suicide: Somehow, half the school had learned about Jean, and Matthews had had the bad idea to play with that and called her 'slut' in front of Scott. Monumental error. Cyclops had thrown himself on him and, if Evan, Kurt, Rogue and Kitty hadn't immediately interfered and parted them, Duncan wouldn't have escaped with only a black eye and a broken nose. Principal Kelly had wanted to expel Scott, but four honest students testified that Duncan had openly provoked him and Kelly had to give in. In all way, Scott wasn't at Bayville High school anymore, the Professor had officialized his departure weeks before.

At the beginning, the cohabitation between the mutants and the students of Bayville wasn't a problem. Being at their home, Amara was purposing her services by reliving the flames of the fireplaces and procuring an agreeable atmosphere. Mattresses had been placed on the ground, the students of Bayville had laid their sleeping bag they had with them as they were coming back from a 2 days excursion.

Until here everything was ok, Scott and Jean had stayed in their room as soon as Cyclops had learned about the students' arrival.

Moïra McTaggart was with the professors, not far from the Bayville students in order to keep an eye on them. She carried on making enquiries about Jean, the one she had yet to know better. She hadn't really had the chance to observe her since the day before. Taryn and Duncan's group weren't far from them and didn't miss anything of the discussion which surprised and shocked them even if they didn't admit it.

- "The students have talked to me about her before the events, as Charles and your friends"

- "Nothing to see with today is it?" asked sadly Hank "She had projected all her mind, believed in the future and the pacific cohabitation between humans and mutants, she believed in humanity. She stayed optimistic to whatever that might happened, always ready to help the ones she could. It was an example for the younger, as is Scott like they are the first students. She had perfectly integrated herself into the high school, well, before our existence was revealed. Now, now, she's unrecognisable, she had lost all innocence"

Moïra stayed silent some instants before asking:

- "She's really not speaking anymore?"

- "We know it's not medical because she only speaks when she panics or has a nightmare, but otherwise she stays dumb, and that has been going on for 1 year" answered Hank "Scott told us she had pronounced some words the first night where she had come to join him in his bedroom. The day after, she has broken down and her muteness has become whole again. It is only through their bond that she expressed herself sometimes.."

- "Yes, Charles talked to me about it, this is something fascinating, that they could share everything like it, but it must also be heavy to carry"

- "They're used to it and it's not as if they weren't close. This bond forged itself nearly two years ago, after Jean had had a power surge. I wasn't here yet, but I know it's thanks to Scott that she had achieved to come back and not going under; he had achieved where the Professor had failed. And that's not all: one day, Scott has been kidnapped at Mexico, Jean had felt it from here that he was in danger when Charles himself wasn't able to reach his mind, it's unique"

- "That's a love bond"

- "Without any doubt and without it, Jean wouldn't be there. It's thanks to this link that Scott managed to make himself accepted by her some days after her wake up, but she took nearly one month for not panicking anymore at his coming and for being receptive at his presence. I will tell you something I haven't even said to the Professor," said Hank. "When Jean was brought back and that I've taken her in charge, that I've seen the extent of her wounds, and those were only the physical ones, I've almost felt selfish for attempting to save her, I knew it would be terrible to live with that"

- "We're doctors Hank"

- "I know"

- "Having said that, I understand you could have thought of such a thing, I've read your report, seen the pictures and the radios, that's terrible" she told him "These fanatics were monsters, true nazis…"

- "You'll know what to expect when you begin working with her"

- "Yes, it won't be easy…the diary you've written each day will help me a lot. In all way, you've done an excellent work of reparative chirurgic judging by the picture, a really good work"

- "Several operations were needed. I did my best not to leave too many scars, but I haven't been able to erase all of them. Moreover she has had a period of auto-mutilation…"

- "There will always be some scars left, but I'm really impressed by the result. You can be proud of it"

- "She's still suffering physically, it's by periods but the tortures she had endured are like fixed into herself"

Charles, who was chatting with Logan, declared suddenly:

- "Scott has just contacted me, he will have to come down with Jean, it is too cold above"

- "It was to be foreseen" said Beast "I'll fetch a big mattress"

- "She's aware of the presence of the others?" asked Logan.

- "Strangely, she hasn't felt them, Scott will inform her"

- "That's risky. How will we do it? She can hardly tolerate our presence, let alone these people. She'll panic, Chuck."

- "I know Logan, but we have no choice, her physical health is fragile, and she must not catch a cold so soon after her last attempt of suicide…"

- "We've to…"

- "Yes, but I will take care of it Logan" the Professor interrupted him.

Charles Xavier wheeled to the center of the room and asked the silence.

- "It's Jean?" asked Rahne.

The Professor nodded.

- "I speak particularly to the students of Bayville" he began "The most part of you doesn't ignore that one of my student has been kidnapped by an organization against mutants 13 months ago and deeply traumatized by what she has endured. I speak to you about that because she will have to be brought here. She's extremely fearful, I will ask you not to speak loudly and overall not to try to approach her. I won't accept any offensive remarks and I want it to be clear"

A lot of nodding answered to him.

- "I'll make sure they respect your demand" said their professor.

- "Thanks mister Malcom" answered Charles before turning himself toward his own students as Hank was coming back with a big mattress "The edge at the bottom has to be free, she will be calmer there"

- "We're on it" said Kurt and Tabitha.

- "And what about we place a folding-screen screen to prevent her from seeing them?" purposed Bobby.

- "That's an idea, but if she feels their presence without keepin' an eye on them it'll be worse" said Logan.

* * *

In the corridor, Jean stopped suddenly, she knew that students of Bayville were there, Scott had told her, but feeling them was worse, there were so numerous.

- "Jean" said Scott, squeezing his arms around her waist for catching her attention.

He had wrapped her in a blanket.

_I can't_

- "I know it's hard Jean, but we have no choice, I'll stay with you and you know it"

Logan, warned by the Professor of their coming, came to join them:

- "Everythin' is ready, we've installed a mattress on the bottom of the room for ya the as further from the other as possible; Chuck made the thin' clear, it should be ok"

When they entered, the part where the students of Bayville were gathered, the crowed fell silent, but not in Jean's mind who, losing her ways, was overwhelmed by projections of thoughts.

_/…Hey, I've yet seen her at school……She doesn't seem so damaged……some are saying that she had been tortured and raped, this is a mutant, but well, poor girl……my god, miss Grey……she seems empty and destroyed……When I think that other than me have fucked hee……oh man, she's so pale……She didn't look the same……she seems to feel ill……/_

Jean's legs collapsed under her and she almost passed out.

- "Hey, Jean"

_Their thoughts…_ she said weakly by clutching her head, Scott had stopped and was sustaining her against him.

_Try to hang on a little more, focus on something…_ he encouraged her before alerting their mentor "Professor, her telepathy, she doesn't control anything anymore"

Charles had yet wheeled toward them.

- "I will put a mental block into her mind"

Jean had clenched her eyes in pain more than she needed to and didn't defend herself, in all ways Xavier didn't need to put his hands on her head but just around it.

- "Er, Professor, there isn't only her telepathy…" said Jamie by making him notice that the windows had started to shack and that some objects were lifted from the ground.

The Professor put also a little shield on her telekinesis. The voices weakened, so did Jean, she felt Scott taking her in his arms, carrying her before laying her slowly on a mattress. The adolescent was hoping that she would stay groggy as long as possible in order she didn't panic, but it didn't last.

When she gathered her mind, the terror did the same. It was shivers, then shacks. She sat up straight and went to curl up on herself at the edge of the room by staying on their mattress, she wanted to escape from here, she wanted to…

- "Jean, Jean, it'll be allright, I'm here, I won't let anybody hurt you" said Scott by approaching her.

She was starting to hyper ventilate, but the adolescent knew how to handle the situation. He sat near her, took her in his arms and slowly appeased her. She had shut her eyes and was letting herself being rocked.

After several minutes, she seemed to find her trust again. Scott observed his surrounding, ready to blast anyone who was idiotic enough for choosing this moment to stand up or burst out laughing. It's didn't happen though.

- "Feeling better?" he breathed into her ear.

She nodded slightly, still shivering. Amara went to give them two sandwiches.

- "Are you hungry? Jean you've to eat a little"

Seeing she wouldn't change her mind, too much anguished for that, he let her sandwich aside and ate his own by keeping her against him. He tried to make her eat a bite but she refused.

It was 9 p.m., Scott leaned with Jean on the mattress and covered them with another blanket, hoping she would achieve to settle down, but the stress was terrible. She didn't know anymore how to install herself and finished by pushing back everything and turned herself toward the wall, shaking even more. Scott approached her in the intention to take her in his arms, she startled.

- "Ssshhh, it's me Jean, I won't hurt you, you know it" he muttered to her.

Seeing she was calming herself, he enlaced her from behind and she leaned her back on his chest. It was the first time she was letting him taking her in his arms in this way. Jean let herself being rocked by Scott's words and finished by falling asleep.

Unfortunately, as usual, it wasn't for a long time. A door banged into the Institute as in Jean's mind but with a metallic sound she feared the most. She woken up in a start and, feeling someone leaned against her back, gasped in terror. Scott hadn't had the time to do or say anything that he was propelled away by a powerful push of telekinesis, and bumped hardly at the opposite wall.

* * *

To be continued

Please review, it only takes 1 minute

Wen


	16. Chapter 16

Thants for the reviews !

**X-Storm: **yeah, it's up and down, that's what makes it realistic

**amazing redd phoenix: **Taryn and Duncan knew what Wolverine would do and they heard a big part of the story so…. Ok I won't tell you for the next part of your review lol

**Summers Groupie: **lol, that's almost exactly what Jean will say lol

* * *

- "NNNNNNNNOOOOO!" shouted Jean when she realised what she had just done, not noticing that she had talked.

- "Oh my god!" said Hank.

He and the others rushed toward Scott. Jean, who was about to join him, backed quickly away at their approach. She burst in tears, her back leaned against the wall. The professors were surrounding Scott, she couldn't see anything, what if she had killed him? She wouldn't bear it. The students of Bayville had bewildered looks, the Institute's ones were surprises and worried.

- "Scott?" asked Logan's voice.

- "It's ok, he's just knocked out" said Hank.

The adolescent began to move and three voices filled his mind: Hank's and Logan's one and the mental one of Jean through their bond.

- "Easy" said Hank when Scott suddenly sat up straight "You've taken quite a shock, how do you feel? Do you feel dizzy?"

- "I'm fine" he answered "I've to rejoin Jean"

They didn't hold him back, and the adolescent went to a mutant in tears.

_I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry_ she repeated again and again through their bond as he was hugging her.

- "It's ok Jean, it's nothing, I'm fine, settle down" he said by attempting to appease her "It was an accident, you've been scared and that's all, you have nothing to blame yourself, it was a simple accident"

But Jean wasn't settling down, she could have killed him, she knew it. Hank came handing a sedative to Scott in order he administrated it at Jean. She didn't even notice it, a soft wave overwhelmed her and she unclenched her grasp before falling asleep.

- "Ya're sure ya're ok shades?" asked Logan.

- "Yes, I'll just have a big bump. She hadn't stop telling me that she was sorry, that she could have killed me"

- "Scott, she truly could have killed ya"

- "No, she hasn't attacked me, she has defended herself; she has been afraid that's all" replied the adolescent.

No more than 15 minutes later, Jean regained her consciousness. Moïra was surprised.

- "You've only given her a little dose?" she asked Hank.

- "Oh no, the maximum possible, but she takes sedatives since more than 11 months, she get accustomed to it and it doesn't have a lot of effect anymore. It can calm a violent panic for a moment but that's all, given that I can't augment the doses"

- "The others told me that she was passing a lot of time sleeping"

- "No really little" he contradicted her "She often stays with her eyes closed as if sleeping against Scott, which could be mistaking, but she's not sleeping, it's her way to cut herself a little more from the world and her nightmares. In fact she only fall asleep by exhaustion since the sedatives don't work anymore, and this only if she's alone with Scott; she sleeps in his room since several months ago. Today, I don't think she will even close her eyes. It happens that she fall asleep when she is in the same room than us, but it's for an intermittent and really vigilant slumber, so in these circumstances…."

- "Yes…not a reposing sleep then, I'll try to create another sedative" said Moïra, noting it on her note-pad. "And this kind of thing has yet happened?"

- "No" answered Logan "It was the first times she was lettin' him to settle against her back, I don't make ya a draw about what her torturers had made her endure in this kind of position…" he grumbled "She's terrorized by the presence of these students of Bayville, so she has taken fright at her wakin' up and hasn't been able to see Scott's face as usual. He's right she has only defended herself. Charles must have told ya that he had blocked her powers for a long time, without it, it'd have happened more often"

- "With us she contents herself by preventing us to approach her, but she had never been violent and even less toward Scott"

- "It's an Omega classed mutant moreover" said Moïra.

- "Yes, psychic's powers, and a telepath never forget anything" said Charles with sadness "One day, her powers will surpass mine, her telekinesis has yet extremely evolved: at her coming she was only able to lift things as books, now she can lift the X-Jet or a car with a single thought and this since her brutal power surge. That's why I had put mental shields for a long time after she had been brought back, but there was a moment it was not possible anymore."

- "Yeah I understand, it's like attempting to prevent a heart from beating" said Moïra.

- "Exactly, our mutations are a part of us, we can't stop them, only the rubbishes who had kidnapped her have used a collar blocking them, without it Jean could have defended herself without any problems, they were cowards "declared Hank "I've kept the apparel for studying it, Ororo and Logan had let it on her, unclasping it in the state she was in could have killed her"

* * *

The hours were melting away, the unusual situation of the evening kept some of the students awake and were still talking between each other. The professors were letting them.

At 2.30a.m., Hank noticed that Jean hadn't closed her eyes and was staying in a state of hyper-vigilance whereas Scott seemed to have fallen asleep.

- "She not sleeping" he said at Charles who had just leaned himself on his mattress.

- "I will knock her out psychically, this is the only way, she needs to sleep" he answered by placing his hands on his temples.

Jean didn't struggle and they could see her closing her eyes.

* * *

It was Scott who was surprised when he woke up at the break of dawn: he had moved and Jean hadn't. He passed his hand on her face but she didn't react. Panic surged inside him, a sedative couldn't be the cause of that.

- "Chuck had knocked her out psychically" said Logan by rejoining him "She still hadn't closed an eye at 2.30 a.m."

- "She hasn't wakened up since?"

- "No she's sleepin' like a dormouse, she must be catchin' up lost sleep"

- "It'll do her some good" nodded Scott by laying a kiss on her forehead.

- "Yeah. The storm had settle down, the electricity is back but the Institute will need time to be warmed up"

Scott nodded and didn't move. Jean woke up only some hours later, when some students began to move in the room.

* * *

Four months melted away. Scott had had to absent himself two days for an oral for his correspondence course. Jean had stayed at the Institute and she was missing him.

The others were outside, taking advantage of the sun. Beast, Rogue, Kitty and Bobby were playing on the basket-ball court but Jean wasn't taking care to it. At a moment, she felt the bond she shared with Scott going stronger, she went to the ally to wait for him, the others let her do it.

Suddenly, she heard a twig breaking; she startled and turned herself toward the origin of the sound. What she saw made her blood ran cold: a group of armed men were surrounding her, she wanted to use her powers but a collar was placed around her neck by a man who had come from behind. This acted as an electroshock, she shouted of terror as the chief of the ones who had kidnapped her the last time was speaking to her with an evil smile.

- "So little bitch, you missed us?"

The cries hadn't gone unnoticed and the five men were soon seen by some X-Men.

- "Jean!" shouted Logan.

She was fighting with all her strength for getting free, biting and kicking all she could. One of the guards punched her for calming her and the chief used her as a human shield, a gun against her temple, before beginning to back away.

- "Come here, hurry!"

- "NO! NNOOOO! "

- "Shut your fucking mouth!"

They dragged her out of the park, into the street. Yet, Logan, Kitty, Bobby, Beast and Rogue were hot on their heels. But it was a waste of effort, the FOH's members had planned everything, a car was waiting for them and they savagely threw Jean into it before engulfing themselves into it. A smoke bomb was sent for hiding their escape.

- "Holly shit!" shouted Logan, the smoke was not only preventing him to see where they were leading but also to follow them at their scent.

They hadn't been able to do anything; Jean had just been kidnapped in front of their eyes. Logan and they other hadn't other choice than going back inside

* * *

A few time melted before Scott burst into the Institute, obviously panicked. He saw Ororo and the Professor coming toward him.

- "Where is Jean? What happened! I felt she was terrorized through our bond, I saw images, there were men, she knew them! Where is she!"

- "Scott…she has been kidnapped in the park" said Ororo.

- "No! It's not possible! You couldn't stop them? Do you know where she is?"

- "Scott settle down" asked the Professor.

- "Settle down? How could I? These bastards took her again!"

- "Scott they had organized everything" said Strom "Logan is gone for asking help to Nick Fury, we'll find her"

- "I should have been here, damned! I have to find her!" he said by punching into the wall in a raging way.

- "You wouldn't have been able to do anything more, the others were there, they couldn't do anything"

After half a hour which seemed to be a lot more for the students and Professor, who, for feeling themselves useful had slipped into their uniforms, Logan came back :

- "Thanks to the video-cams of the city, the S.H.I.E.L.D. has reached to follow the car in which these bastards took Jean"

- "So, we know where she is?" asked Scott.

- "We know she is and we'll leave immediately, Fury is comin' with us, he wants them alive and thinks he'll be more able to control us if he's here with some of his guys"

- "Whatever, let's go!" cut Scott.

* * *

They had stopped 3 and half quarter of an hour ago, they had dragged Jean into a warehouse where others guards were, some of them were still haunting her nightmares, she was panicked. They had beaten her and she was held on the ground by two guards. The chief was sat on her, which was scaring her even more.

- "You've escaped once, but it won't happen twice. Do you know how many men I've lost because of you?"

- "It's a nightmare, a nightmare, only a nightmare" was repeating Jean, crying, the shock having unlocked her muteness.

- "Is it possible to bleed in a nightmare?" the chief asked sarcastically by showing her, her own blood on his fingers.

She had the arch of the eyebrow and the lips opened, her nose was also bleeding, her ribs were hurting her, she had received kicks and one of them was surely broken.

- "They had well repaired you, I've to admit it" he said "You're again as pretty as a picture…"

He put his hands on her breast and Jean screamed and struggle violently:

- "No! No I beg you, kill me, kill me, but don't do this to me! "

- "…and you haven't forgotten us" he smiled viciously.

He bent down toward her, finding himself leaning on top of her, for whispering into her ear.

- "But it's not up to you to decide what we'll do to you, we'll all play with you, this will take the rust of you and… AARRRGGHHHHH fucking bitch! "

He sat up straight quickly, Jean had defended herself in the only way she could and had bitten his ear until blood which gave her a huge slap in return. One guard plastered her more strongly on the ground by pulling her hair, she winced at the pain she had lost the custom, the gust of the blood, this difficulty to breathe… She was still crying, hoping it was only a nightmare, that she was going to wake up in Scott embrace…

- "You'll suffer and learn to submit and this more quickly than you think…"

He tore up her tee-shirt, Jean was in tears and keeping on repeating as a mantra:

- "That's a nightmare, a nightmare…."

The chief laughed:

- "Sven, nip her in your way, in order she could see it's real"

- "Sir?"

- "That's an order"

- "Yes sir"

Jean screamed in pain when the man broke her arm as if it as a simple twig for him.

- "Do we carry on?" asked the chief who was still sat on her "The more you struggle, the more you'll suffer"

He let his hand glided on the adolescent's uncovered skin who found again the strength to defend herself. But he was right, this was useless except that she screamed again as he was slowly breaking one of her finger, before getting her rid of her pants and opening his.

* * *

Outside, the X-Men and the members of the S.H.I.E.L.D. were arriving. With the screaming, they didn't have trouble to find the ware-house and entering into it….

* * *

To be continued

Please review, it only takes 1 minute

Wen


	17. Chapter 17

Thants for the reviews !

* * *

Inside, the chief was about to proceed when he was projected back way by a powerful optic blast which almost knocked him out. He didn't have the time to get up when a well-built man was throwing himself on him.

- "Son of a bitch!" he shouted.

The man knew that this mutant would have killed him if the one-eye military hadn't stopped him.

- "Dead he would not be judged Wolverine, we'll take care of him"

Logan retracted his claws, two of them surrounded the man's face the other pointed under his neck.

- "I've a great will to cut your manhood and making ya eat it, ya would make your own pipe asshole! Or maybe and pullin' it inside your fucking ass, in order ya could feel what it is! But where ya'll wallow, ya and your fanatics, ya'll endure what you have made Jean endured to Jean and to all the other, your roommates won't be altar boys, I'll assure myself of that personally"

He punched him one last time and let him in the hands of Fury. The other members of the S.H.I.E.L.D had arrested the others with the help of the X-Men.

Scott had rejoined Jean, still on the ground, bloodstained, nude, surrounded by parts of her clothes.

- "Jean, Jean, it's over" he said, but the adolescent didn't react, she was in a state of shock and wasn't long before she passed out.

Storm asked for a blanket and enveloped her in it before Scott softly took her in his arms.

* * *

Once again at the Institute, the adults were waiting anxiously for the verdict, Scott had stayed with Jean.

- "So?"

- "Blows and blows again, she has a broken rib and they had broken her left arm and one of her right finger" said Hank.

- "Did they rape her again?" asked Logan without circumvolution.

- "I don't think so…well, if they have, they used condoms because I haven't found any trace"

- "In my opinion they haven't had the time, and they wouldn't have taken precautions anyways" declared Ororo "Having said that, it was close"

- "But the shock is the same" said Moïra.

- "When will she regain consciousness?" asked the Professor.

- "She has regained consciousness"

- "So soon?" Logan was surprised.

- "Yes, but…well come and see by yourself…" he said.

- "But she'll be afraid" declared Ororo who had came out before the adolescent's waking up.

Hank didn't answer and Jean didn't react at their presence. Scott was near her, stroking her hair.

- "That's justly the contrary which is scaring me" he said by laying a hand on Jean's face.

Normally, she would have panicked, but she didn't move. He laid his hand on her belly, same thing.

- "Catatonique state?" asked Moïra.

- "No, she's conscious" answered Hank by asking Jean "Give me your right hand" and at everyone surprise, she did it.

They went out, leavin g Scott alone with Jean:

- "They reached it…" said the Professor.

- "She's become submissive, she has recorded that all resistance or disobedience were ending by physical suffering, and at the same time she had detached herself from her body" analysed Moira.

- "Will you be able to help her?" asked Hank.

- "I don't know, I've never seen such a case. She was extremely traumatized before today, here, it's possible that she stays in this state…I'll do my possible"

- "Starting everythin' again because of these assholes" said Logan.

* * *

Three week melted away, Jean had been placed in her own room again, in order to try to give her more independent again, she was letting them doing anything anyways. Her state hadn't evolved; she was still as much submissive and distant. The bruises had disappeared but she was still wearing splints for her new fractures.

One night, she came into Scott's room, who wasn't reaching to close his eyes, and went to curl herself in his arms, in tears.

- "Jean?"

- "They are watching me…they'll come back…." She said without preamble at the more astonishment of Scott.

- "They had been arrested Jean" he said by running his hand trough her hair.

- "No….not all of them…there are others who think likr them…they will come back…"

- "Jean…"

- "They said the first time that I wouldn't escape from them…and they were right….it had happened again….they will come back…." She said, the tears running through her cheeks.

- "Jean, you're safe here"

- "No, there isn't anywhere which is safe…they're here…they will come back…"

Scott didn't manage to settle her down, he was still under the shock of hearing her speaking easily as if she hadn't spent more than one year dumb. She ended by falling asleep from exhaustion and he did the same.

* * *

The day after, Scott laid a kiss on Jean's forehead and, seeing she wasn't reacting, got up and climbed down to the kitchen where the professors were:

- "Jean rejoined me this night, as some months ago" he announced.

- "By herself?" asked Hank, surprised.

- "Of course by herself" answered Scott before adding "She cried and…and she has talked"

- "It's extremely important that she speaks to you again through your bond" declared the Professor Xavier.

Scott shocked his head and answered:

- "It wasn't through our bond Professor, she has really talked to me"

The other looked at him astonished.

- "What has she said?" asked Ororo.

- "She kept on saying that they were watching her, that they would come back. Whatever I could say to her she stayed on it"

- "…That's what I feared, but I didn't think she would express it verbally" declared Moïra.

- "What do you mean?" asked Hank.

- "Paranoia" she contented to answer.

- "She's not paranoiac!" the adolescent defended her.

- "Scott, she expresses fears which are irrational given that her aggressors are dead or in jail, she stays on it whatever you say, she feels watched, that's paranoia"

The Professor, announced:

- "She has wakened up, Scott, go and fetch her, Moïra will sound her"

- "Ok, but maybe she won't say anything else"

- We'll see"

Scott went out of the kitchen and came back ten minutes later with a Jean who seemed worried. He made her sit down on a chair, she curled her knees against her and Moïra came near her as the adolescent was starting to speak again:

- "They are not over with me, they want to hurt me, they'll come back…."

- "Jean" said Moïra.

The adolescent stared at her.

- "It's you! It's because of you! You told them where I was, they…"

- "Jean they knew who you were and where you lived since the first time"

She looked down.

- "They'll come back…"

- "They've been arrested Jean, all of them"

- "No, there are some remaining, they are prowling, they are waiting for the good moment…"

- "You're safe here in the Institute" said Moïra.

- "No, there is nowhere we are in security, they kidnapped you outside of the Institute then inside the park, they'll come here…"

- "No Jean, it's over"

- "How can you say it's over? It was yet 'over' before! but they've come back!" cried Jean before restarting to speak calmly "They are watching me, waiting for the good moment…"

Hank arrived with a sedative.

- "I'll give you a sedative, give me your hand" asked Moïra, hoping she wouldn't, but she did without hesitating "Jean, you don't have to submit yourself with us, we won't hurt you"

- "Don't struggle, they told me, if I struggle they hurt me, I won't struggle anymore otherwise they'll hurt me…we must no…"she didn't finish her sentence, the sedative put her into sleep.

Moira stood up and sighed.

- "I confirm my prognostic, it's paranoia" she declared "But it could be toward all of us, she could accuse all the men to be here for her, but she only accused me because she doesn't know me wellenough"

- "Will you help her?" asked Scott.

- "Of course! There's medication for soothing her, I've worked on them in order they could be efficient on mutants. This will settle her down, but her words will scare the other students…"

- "It's Jean the most important! It's her well-being! the others know what she has endured!" Scott lost is temper.

- "Scott, I understand what you feel, but you have to admit that this can destabilize them"

- "How long this will last?" asked Logan

- "It can be only temporarily, or a lot longer, it's a defense"

- "I don't like seeing her so submissive" said Scott in a calmer voice "It's as if she was considering me as these bastards. If I say or do something which hurt her, she doesn't express it…"

- "This'll end eventually Scott, she's still under the shock"

* * *

A month melted away. At the beginning, the other students had been astonished to hear her speaking again, but they had kept their calm even when she kept on repeating the same things again and again in the same room as them. The medics were soothing her, but not completely.

Scott was regularly working with her in the med-bay as the professors were observing them from another room and Moïra was transmitting her instructions with the help of Charles's telepathy for not troubling Jean. But this session was particular…

- "Jean, what I would want, is to know when I'm doing something which is hurting you here" he said by laying his hand where was her heart "You do not have to be submissive to me, I won't hurt you, you don't have to do something if you don't want to" he added, his hands holding hers again.

- "But they… they will know it and they'll punish me, they…." Jean broke down suddenly "They…. they hurt me…they hurt me so bad…"

Scott hugged her.

_Ask her what they have done to her _transmitted the Professor.

- "What have they done to you after having kidnapped you in the park Jean?"

- "…They… they… they… knocked me out…when I've regained consciousness they were here… they beat me…" she had started to shake "…They… they wanted to start again to hurt me…to soil me…but I was defending myself so…so they've hurt me…they… they told me that as long as I would struggle, they would hurt me" she repeated in tears.

- "What have they done to you?"

- "…One of the guards broke my arm…the pain was awful….I was still defending myself, so they…. they broke some of my fingers…I don't want to suffer like it anymore…I don't want anymore…""

_Encourage her to carry on speaking Scott, ask her what they have done to her the first time_

- "Jean, the first time they have kidnapped you, what have they done to you?"

- "No…I want to forget…I don't want to remember anymore…but I remember everything…they… they hurt me, they hurt me so bad…"

- "How?"

- "No…no…"

_Insist_

_But _answered the adolescent.

_You have to Scott_

- "Jean, it's important, what have they done to you?"

- "They….they….no…no!…I don't want….I can't!"

Scott coudn't bear it anymore, no matter what the telepath asked.

- "It's ok, it'll be okay sweetie" he comforted her as she was crying against him.

The others came to join him.

- "You shouldn't have stopped Scott" said Moïra.

* * *

To be continued

Please review, it only takes 1 minute

Wen


	18. Chapter 18

Thants for the reviews !

* * *

- "She's not ready! You're asking her to tell everything as if it was only a day at the beach, but it's far to be the case, she's not ready!" said Scott with strength.

- "I'm aware of it but…"

- "He's right, we have to let her time" approved Logan.

- "She has to express it verbally, writing it or doing it by telepathy would**n't** be efficient, it would not have any therapeutic effect"

- "Give her some time," said Scott "I won't let you rush her"

- "She seems to have stopped being paranoiac, she has spoken freely here, she hasn't stayed in a trance like last month, it's a big step" approved Hank.

* * *

Three weeks melt away. Jean's paranoia seemed to have really disappeared even if she was even more vigilant than before. She had also regained the custom of sleeping in Scott's bed. And this night she had felt that she had to free herself of a huge weight.

Jean and Scott were laying on the bed, in the half-light.

- "You wanted us to go to bed earlier, so here we are" said Scott.

Jean was on her back, her glance staring at the ceiling, he was leaning on one of his elbow so that he was facing her and he was feeling that she was struggling with herself through their bond. 

- "I….I know I have to speak about what happened to me. And I must not do it through our bond. In all ways, even if I could, I wouldn't because I don't want you to see and feel it. Yet I blame myself for having to tell it to you, but I don't feel like I'm able to do it with anybody else..."

- "Don't worry about me, I know a lot and the most important thing is that you free yourself" he told her for encouraging her.

She let out a loud sigh and, as Scott was beginning to think that she wouldn't do it, started:

- "When I've left you at school this very day, I've taken the way back but there was road work which wasn't there in the morning… I was thinking about you and waiting for the traffic light to turn green. As I was starting to drive again, I felt a strong pain in the back of my neck and I only had the time to see that it was a hypodermic dart then I passed out…"

She took a pause and carried on:

- "I dunno how long I've stayed out…when I woke up, I was in a grimy and humid cell which…"her voice trembled.

- "Jean…"

- "No, I have to do it."

She closed her eyes some instants then started again:

- "I was in this cell which only had an opened window equipped with bars. There was a rudimentary bathroom…" she bit her lips, tears were beginning to run through her cheeks, this bathroom was reminding her of so much bad recalls, recalls she would have to relate. "I couldn't use my power because of this collar they had placed around my neck and which was firmly fixed, I spent the night trying to escape but without any success..."

Scott waited for her to resume.

- "The day after the chief and one guard came, I asked questions, he answered to it by saying me it would be the last ones. They told me who they were and why I was there, I tried to react, he slapped me. Then he'd asked the other to bring me to the room…the room…of…of tortures" she said "But he had let the door opened with only this guard, so I've attacked him and I've escaped. I've managed to go out of the cell and went on some ten meters, but all was planned, the chief was waiting for me and he beat me black and blue….I…I had never felt so much pain in all my life, I…I didn't want to scream but it was too painful…….The guard I had attacked dragged me back to the cell and I think I've passed out." She carried on, tears running even more out of her eyes "I'd just regained consciousness when two men came for bringing me in that horrible room…"

Scott didn't interrupt her, even when she had had to take some minutes To express some points, even when the tears were overwhelming. She related everything to him, the tortures, the starvation, the thirstiness, the rapes, the pain, the humiliation, the feeling of dirtiness, the beatings. She arrived to the end after more than one and half an hour:

- "…my legs were broken, the pain was horrible, It was to a point that I was almost unable to feel it …….I wanted to die…….and I knew that it was what would happen. But even for that they wouldn't spare me the suffering…….they told me how they had dissected alive the previous 'subjects' until death………………I don't remember anything after that, I don't remember you getting me out of there, I don't remember…but everything else….everything else is engraved…."

She had told everything, and all the pressure collapsed on her, she burst in sobs; she who was thinking she hadn't anymore after all these months, all the tears she had had during her telling. Scott held her against him and rocked her slowly. He let his own tears flowing out.

- "You did it Jean, you told it…. "

- "It's haunting me Scott…it's…it's haunting me……"

- "I know…"

She finally fell asleep from exhaustion.

* * *

The day after, she was still sleeping when he woke up, after all she had had a really bad nightmare during the night. Scott laid a kiss on her forehead and went to take a shower before going down.

- "Where is doctor Mc Taggart?" asked Scott to some students.

He knew this woman was there for Jean, but he couldn't help to feel resentment toward her

- "She should…" began Rogue.

- "I'm here" she said by coming with Hank.

- "You'll be delighted, Jean related me everything without using our link, she told me everything before broking down"

- "Scott, don't think that the thought thtat it's difficult for her pleases me, I'm not here for making her suffer but for helping her, and what she's done is a very big step"

- "The fact of having to turn it over in her mind!"

- "Yes Scott, she not the only one to know anymore, she shared it with you" approved the Professor.

Toward him, Scott showed more respect.

- "She was blaming herself for that, but she didn't want to speak about that to anybody else"

- "She stayed upstairs?" asked Hank.

- "She's still sleeping, she fell asleep from exhaustion yesterday night and she had a violent nightmare which has made the entire bedroom shake; this has completely emptied her."

- "Exactly Scott" said Moïra "It's as if she had punctured an abscess, once this is done, it can heal more easily, even if the mark will stay"

- "You only know the top of the iceberg doctor Mc Taggart, only the top…" said Scott.

- "Maybe, but the most important is that Jean has told everything to someone, the fact that it's not me doesn't bother me, and doesn't surprise me Scott, the most important is that she has told it."

* * *

One month later, Jean woke up with a start and burst in tears. Scott did like he had always acted: he held her against him and soothed her with soft words, laying kisses on her cheek, her hair or her forehead. But it was far to imagine what would happen, Jean suddenly laid her lips on the edge of his mouth, then on his lips, at first timidly, before really kissing him. Scott answered to it, he couldn't think at this instant. This last for some seconds, less than one minute, before that, all of a sudden, the charm broke itself and that she pushed him back :

- "No!"

- "Jean, I'm sorry, I shouldn't have answered to your kiss"

- "It's not you, it's…" she burst in tears again.

Scott wanted to comfort her, and laid his hand on her waist, but she pushed him back.

- "Don't touch me! Leave me alone!..." she said before turning herself in the bed, her back toward him.

- "Jean…"

- "Leave me alone"

She didn't speak to him for all the days which followed; she avoided him which didn't go unnoticed, her who usually was always near of the adolescent. The next day, as Scott was entering in the kitchen, the professors where gathered and speaking about it:

- "No, I have also noticed this sudden change, I haven't heard her pronounced any word, she's distant and almost absent" said Hank.

- "Scott, did something happen?" asked Ororo by seeing him coming.

He sighed and answered:

- "Yeah, two days ago. She woke up in the middle of night, in tears, I've comforted her and she…she kissed me" he said, the others stayed silent "At first timidly, then with passion. I love her, I couldn't help myself to answer to it, and I shouldn't have, maybe I should have push her back, I don't know"

- "What happened after?" asked Logan.

- "After some instants, she suddenly pushed me back, she told me it was her fault, she was crying even more but didn't let me take her in my arms. Since then, she's avoiding me, she pretends to be asleep the morning, she…"

- "How do you know that?" asked Moïra.

- "Our bond" answered Scott by indicating his temple.

- "This explains her behaviour" said the Professor.

- "Yes, you have nothing to blame yourself Scott, it's her who made the first step, if you had pushed her back, she wouldn't have been able to re-experiencing what was kissing someone she loves and would have has the same reaction, this would have been worse" explained Moïra "Here, she's lost, she must be asking herself a lot of questions for the reasons which have pushed her to kiss you, about what she felt, why she pushed you back and even more. Give her time, she made a giant step"

- "But I could help her, here I've the feeling that's she's considering me like then, it's…"

- "She needs to do this way alone"

* * *

The very evening, Jean was yet at bed, turning her back on him as the two nights before. Scott leaned on one of his elbow and asked: 

- "Jean, are you mad at me? Maybe I shouldn't have answered to your kiss, and broke it before you, I dunno, but do you hate me?"

* * *

To be continued

Please review, it only takes 1 minute

Wen


	19. Chapter 19

Thants for the reviews !

* * *

- "Jean, are you mad at me? Maybe I shouldn't have answered to your kiss, and broke it before you, I dunno, but do you hate me?"

She turned herself suddenly:

- "No Scott, never…It's not your fault, it's all these recall…This wouldn't have changed anything, I…It wasn't premeditated, I dunno what took me…I'm sorry for having avoiding you, but…"

- "…but you needed to be alone to think about it" he ended.

- "Yes"

- "I understand that Jean, but I would have liked you to tell me it, I've really thought that I had made something bad and that you would never speak to me again…"

- "I'm sorry"

- "Don't be, I should have understood immediately"

- "And I should have thought about you" she said.

He smiled and proposed to her to curl herself in his arms, she accepted the offer and he hold her against him.

- "I love you, do you know it?"

- "So do I" she answered, expressing her feeling verbally for the first time since more than one and half a year.

The adolescent kissed her on her forehead and they ended to fall asleep.

* * *

Two months had melted away. During the last two nights Scott had had to leave with the other X-Men and she hadn't slept. Knowing that he was safe this day, Jean had gone to bed early. Scott was taking a shower, she was hearing the water flowing into her subconscious…

…_hours spent suspended by the arms with a butcher hook, soaked by the water which was flowing down her head…guards laughing and one of them was approaching with an electric cable in his hands…_

- "NO!"

She had woken up with a start, Scott was in the bed, she might have fallen asleep since more than one hour.

- "Jean?"

- "A nightmare" she said with lassitude "another one"

Just some a couple of months and it would make 2 years that she had been kidnapped.

Scott took her in his arms:

- "It's nothing, everything is all right"

- "I'm sorry"

- "Why?"

- "For waking you up every night, if I wasn't sleeping here…"

- "It would be the same, I would came to you"

- "So I'm doubly sorry…"

- "Jean, you're not responsible, and I'm happy that you sleep here with me, at least I know you're there and that if you're not well, I would be near you"

- "Thanks, thanks for being here…but…but Scott, you have to forget me, you have to find someone who…"

He silenced her by laying two fingers on her lips.

- "Don't say such things, I love you and nobody else"

- "But I can't give you anything, it has been two years and they're still haunting me, I can't give you anything"

- "You're wrong, you're giving me your presence, you're here, alive, that's all that matters"

They stayed silent some instants, in front of each other before Scott decided himself to ask her:

- "Can I….Jean can I kiss you?"

Jean, averted her eyes:

- "I don't know…I don't want to hurt you"

- "You won't hurt me Jean, I will speak to you, like that you won't think about them"

She looked back to him and timidly nodded.

- "You're sure? I don't want to rush you"

- "Yeah I'm…I'm sure"

He waited a moment to be sure she wasn't telling that for pleasing him, and laid his lips on her in a tender kiss.

_Everything is all right Jean, you see? What do you feel?_

_Softness, love_

_What do you experience?_

_I don't know, it's confusing_

He delicately broke their kiss.

- "You're ok?"

She nodded before saying with astonishment.

- "We kissed…"

- "We kissed"

- "And I didn't push you back…"

- "And you didn't push me back" confirmed Scott before saying "Hey, but it looks like the premises of the premises of a smile"

- "I didn't let them enter my mind"

- "You're stronger than them Jean, the proof, they were too coward to affront you without sedating you, without blocking your powers"

She nodded slowly before coming closer.

- "Again" she said.

- "No Jean, not tonight, it's better to stay on a success, you understand?"

- "You're right" she nodded.

He kissed her on the edge of her mouth.

- "There is only the smile that's missing"

- "I don't know anymore…"

- "I know, one day, it'll come back naturally"

* * *

The day after, when Scott went in the kitchen where Kurt was stuffing himself with food as some professors and other students were taking their breakfast, they didn't last to see that something had change, indeed, Scott was particularly shinning.

- "Something happened or I've missed an episode?" asked the Elf.

- "I kissed Jean yesterday" said Scott "And it went well"

- "How?" asked Ororo, surprised.

- "I asked her before, and I've had the idea to use our bond for invading her mind in order to prevent her recalls to do it, and it worked"

- "She hadn't pushed you back?"

- "No, she had lived the present moment"

- "That's a big progress and I understand that you haven't taken advantage of the moment" said the Professor.

- "No, she wanted us to kiss again, but I told her we better stay on a success"

- "That's really good" approved Moïra.

- "I thought she was about to smile after that, she was proud for having reached to push them out of her mind

- "It's important that she regains her self-trust"

- "In all way, we have to celebrate it!" said Tabitha. "Where is she?"

- "She's still sleeping"

- "When she'll come down, don't speak about that with her, she needs to think about that alone, and not feeling herself under pressure" said Moïra.

* * *

To be continued

Please review, it only takes 1 minute

Wen


	20. Chapter 20

Thants for the all the wonderfull reviews !

Here is the end !

* * *

Two months melted away, Jean was now relatively at ease when she was kissing Scott, even if it still happen to her to push him back. The young man (yes Scott had just turned twenty years old as Jean) had left 3 days ago for some exams before the Christmas vacation.

Ororo was playing at the piano and a melody was filling up the building. Jean was in a common-room, reading a book in a corner, she hadn't felt his presence.

- "Jean" he said.

She turned her head and, by seeing him, smiled, a beautiful smile almost as before without even noticing it.

- "Scott!" she said going to threw herself in his arms "I missed you so much"

- "I missed you too"

They kissed briefly, then Scott suddenly realised:

- "Jean, you've smiled!"

- "I've smiled?"

- "One of your most beautiful smiles which were only appearing in my dreams"

- "I…I didn't noticed it"

- "Another victory" he said by hugging her.

The sound of a wheelchair made itself hear.

- "You came back earlier Scott"

- "Yes, I couldn't stay longer far away from Jean, I've taken the road as soon as the exams were over"

- "Hey, but that is a smile I have just seen" said the Professor.

- "I've had it at my incoming" declared Scott.

- "I thought I would never be able to anymore" she said "But Scott was right, it comes back by itself naturally…two years later"

- "You have to let the time which is needed for the wounds to heal Jean" said the Professor before smiling at her "You'll make shines the Institute again, I'm happy for you"

- "If only the nightmares could also go away" she said

- "They will Jean, They will"

Epilogue

Moïra's work was henceforth over Jean had followed her therapy, had started again to speak, had expressed what had happened to her, was reaching to let herself being kissed and to appreciate this contact again. Well, she was still afraid of a lot of things, was staying dependant of Scott and was only accepting to be touched by him, but time was doing its work even if it wasn't erasing everything.

One year later, so more than 3 years after her kidnapping Jean was facing the worst fight : the one of crossing the step with Scott. She, who had only known violence, pain, humiliation and feeling of dirtiness. At numerous times; they came close of making love, but Jean escaped it by taking it more or less serenely. Scott never rushed her. And one night, she and Scott made love, she uncovered new feelings so far from the ones she had associated to this act, it was so pure, so soft. It didn't hurt her, she didn't felt herself soiled, but nevertheless she had to face a crisis of anguishes as if a dam had broken inside her. After having gathered her mind, she was surprised to realise that she had taken a little pleasure into it.

Scott and she talked a lot about it, he helped her not to blame herself for the thoughts which were assaulting her. They considered it as their first time for both of them and it wasn't so far from the truth, like it, it was really the first time for the young woman.

During the weeks which followed, Jean changed and opened up a little more to the others. Nightmares and scars would always stay in a way or in another one, the same for the pains, but **They** weren't holding her anymore. It still happened to her to crack up, but it was becoming rare.

The previous week, Scott had achieved to make Jean go out of the Institute's enclosure to make a walk in the snow just with him. Although nervous, she had quite well pulled through, it was a good beginning.

This would be long, but she knew she would never be alone and that Scott would always be at her sides for supporting her, she trusted him.

End

That was quite different from the first version, wasn't it ?

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